Between Days
by The Crushinator
Summary: A story about what happens between the fall of Zaibach and Hitomi's return home.
1. The First Day

Chapter 1 - The First Day

Issac muttered something after them, but his words were drowned by the machine hum of the green light pouring from the ruined Atlantis Machine. Hitomi felt rough linen, cool light, dust, and hot wind, tempered by the soft, warm slickness of Van's skin as they flew over the mechanized city of Zaibach.

She held her eyes tightly shut, wanting to lose herself in Van, his scent, the feel of his skin, the sensation that he came for her when she called. Her mind's eye sometimes caught glimpses of the earth Van saw beneath them, which grew bloodier as they left the capital for the battlefield. Here, a group of soldiers in various uniforms stood dumbfounded, gazing up at the sky. There, a young man crouched with his bloodstained knees to his chest. There, two men stood crying, embracing one another as their comrades milled about aimlessly. There, a group of soldiers still fought, unaffected by the dissipation of the Zone of Absolute Fortune. And the ground, riddled with gouges of molten slag from the energist bomb dropped by Basram, grew warm under the rising light.

"We're almost there," Van said. "I think I can see Escaflowne."

She didn't respond. Instead, she pushed her nose into Van's chest and inhaled, preferring his scent far above the whifs of lead, sulfur, metal, and blood carried upwards on the wind.

"Hitomi?" he repeated. There was a long silence as she shook her head, never looking up, never opening her eyes.

"We're almost there," he repeated, and pushed on. They rose and fell with the beats of his wings.

At the green fringe of Zaibach, two beastmen stood perched in a tree, giving a paean to the rising sun.

* * *

Allen was thinking about his mother. The air of quietness about her as she arranged flowers, the graceful folds of her fingers as they worked. He had strained much of his life to attain that grace in his swordplay, as a tribute to her memory. If nothing else, he was at least blessed with her hair.

His sister, it appeared, lacked that grace completely.

After the white dragon flew away, the first thing Celena did was to take a few unsteady steps, as if to follow it. Allen thanked Jichia that he was there to catch her when she caught her boot on an unsteady rock, which attracted more than a few jeers from the crew of the Crusade.

"Damn it," she said softly. "I'll never get used to this."

Allen was shocked. "Celena, what--"

"Boss! What do you have this time?" shouted Pyle.

"Looks like a lady soldier," leered Gio.

"I hope she'll punish me!"

Amidst the laughter, Gaddes crossed his arms, leaned back on his heels, and regarded the situation.

"Quiet!" said Allen. The men, however, eager to blow off all the anxiety bottled up during the final hours of war, either didn't hear their captain or chose to ignore him.

"Looks like the boss has made another conquest."

"He said to shut up!" yelled Celena, pushing herself away from Allen to stand and face the crew.

Gio and Pyle looked at each other in frank puzzlement as the rest of the Crusade guffawed or slapped them on their backs. Gaddes smiled.

"Right you are, ma'am."

The men then began clamoring toward Allen, begging for details on his duel with the King as Celena loosened some of the tighter holds on her leather armor. There was a set line to her mouth that Allen found very familar, but had trouble placing as the men joked with him about coming to blows over a woman with a king. As he answered the questions with as little aplomb as possible, his second-in-command keeping an eye on Celena as she adjusted her armor, he was certain he knew who it was that told his crew to ignore her obviously Zaibach uniform.

* * *

The wind whipped past Van's face as he piloted Escaflowne over Zaibach's Western mountains. Gradually, the landscape was beginning to change to the red-soiled, rocky terrain of Cesario, Zaibach's western neighbor. Cypress groves and olive orchards dotted the horizon, and the Cebak Mountains were doing their best to crowd out the sky.

"It's going to be tough to make it through the mountains," Van said over his shoulder to Hitomi.

"Why?"

"One of the only passable gaps is a holding ground for Zaibach's flying fortresses. It's why we had to use Asturia as a launching ground."

"Oh," said Hitomi. She pressed her face into Van's back and let some of the weight off her legs. "But the war's over."

When Van didn't answer right away, Hitomi paled. "It's over. Right?"

"I don't know."

Hitomi bit her lower lip and looked up at the daytime silhouette of the Mystic Moon as it crept further below the horizon. The sun was high in the sky, and Hitomi could feel it in her skin. Her clothes clung damply to her in some places, and whipped freely about in others, leaving her with an uncomfortable sensation of being too hot and too cold at the same time. At the edges of her vision, she could see swimming silver sparkles, the kind that she usually got if she stood up a little too fast after sitting down for a long time.

Slowly, she said, "Hey, Van?"

"Hm?"

"Are we going to take a break soon?"

"I was hoping to push on to Asturia, but I suppose we should- are you okay?" he said, looking over his shoulder at her. She had placed her forehead against his bare back a little too heavily for comfort.

"Yes. Just tired." She looked away from him, toward the growing clusters of trees that blurred into each other, mixing with the brown of the earth. She leaned against Van. Her cheek was cold on his back.

Van turned his head back toward the front and began angling Escaflowne downward. As they dropped altitude, Hitomi saw they were headed toward a hollow in the mountains, shaded by overhanging olive trees. The area was protected by an overhanging cliff, with sheer rock faces on nearly all sides. They swooped close, and Van landed Escaflowne as deep within the area as possible.

"You've been up all night, haven't you?" Van accused.

Hitomi laughed as she climbed down from Escaflowne. "So have you!"

"That's not the point. Wait, don't do that on your own. Let me help you down."

Hitomi waved her hand at him dismissively. "I told you, I'm fine. Just tired. Whoa."

As she took the final leap down from Escaflowne, her dizziness reached a peak and she swayed on her feet as soon as she hit the ground. She caught herself before she lost her balance entirely, and stood there for a moment, leaning against the machine until she was able to catch her breath. When her vision cleared, she saw Van standing before her, looking so concerned Hitomi had to smile.

"Don't look so worried. I just can't go without eating and sleeping as long as you can, apparently."

"I had rations just before Basram dropped their weapon," Van said dismissively, and tried to walk Hitomi to the base of one of the shadier olive trees. After a brief argument about the strength of her constitution, she let herself be led, Van's arm on her shoulder. And after settling down in between the roots of the tree, she found that she really didn't mind being taken care of too much.

Van brought her a flask of water that he filled in a nearby spring, and was able to procure the last of his military rations of Cesarian hard-bread for the two of them to eat. Hitomi was fascinated at the process of eating the bread. It was hard enough that a desperate soldier could use it to knock out an approaching enemy, but once it spent ten miets soaking in water, it became just soft enough to chew. Sadly, the resulting softness did little to improve the bread's wood-like flavor.

"How long did you have to live on this stuff?" Hitomi demanded, making a disgusted face after her final bite of waterlogged hard-bread. Van, who had removed his gloves for their meal, had just licked the last bit of the bread off his thumb.

"Ever since I brought you back from the Mystic Moon. The Cesarian soldiers we met made sure I had enough to eat before I joined up with the Crusade."

Hitomi noticed the careful omission of Allen's name and felt her cheeks redden slightly.

"It isn't so bad, once you get used to it," Van went on, avoiding her eyes as he pushed the cork back into his flask and set it aside. "Fills you up, at least."

Hitomi felt the passage of time very keenly for a few seconds. The easy repartee they'd fallen into since landing at the border of Zaibach and Cesario turned into something difficult and clumsy. She looked at the shafts of sunlight filtering down through the overhanging leaves and tried to will herself to say something, anything, but Van was the one who ended up breaking that silence.

"Hitomi, I heard your voice when I was fighting Allen."

_Why doesn't he understand?_

"You did?" she said uneasily.

"Of course I did," he said. "You told me not to fight him. That there wasn't any point. But I wanted to fight him and I didn't want you, especially you, to tell me that I couldn't."

Van paused for a second before continuing, his voice taking on an excited timbre. "He was great in battle, he really didn't hold back. I don't think I've ever felt so, so exhilarated before, but I-"

He stopped again and tore some grass out of the ground, then dropped it. "If it weren't for you, I would have killed him. It was your voice that did it. You told me I didn't understand. And you were right."

"Don't say that, Van. I was the one who didn't understand. You were just responding to my feelings. I hadn't quite... worked them out yet."

_I worry about him so much._

"No, I've always wanted to best him in battle, ever since we fought in that old fort when he stopped us from escaping. When he started protecting that Dilandau, it was the perfect excuse. Even though he was really protecting his sister," Van shook his head. "I still don't understand that."

"It wasn't your fault! It was the Zone of Absolute Fortune, I turned it on when Folken killed Dornkirk!"

Hitomi stopped talking, horrorstruck at what she'd let slip. She recalled the last time she mentioned Folken to Van, at the shelter in the Asturian countryside, the way Van stormed off and didn't speak to her again until he was back from the battle at Rampant. She didn't like to think what his reaction would be to learning that his brother had killed the Emperor of Zaibach and that she had turned on the Atlantis Machine.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands over her mouth.

"It's fine," Van said, a little harshly. "No, wait," he said, seeing the stricken look on Hitomi's face.

This time his voice was gentler, but there was still that old bitter undertone present whenever he mentioned his brother. "I mean it's okay to say that. I wanted to know what happened. You have nothing to apologize for."

Hitomi lowered her hands to her lap and continued, "I still didn't mean-"

"It's okay. Really."

"As long as you're sure," Hitomi said uncertainly. True to his word, Van didn't appear likely to storm off and sulk. He merely pressed his lips together and seemed to be concentrating very hard. After mentally reminding herself to be more careful about what she said, she continued. "When Folken- when he and Dornkirk died, there was this light. The Atlantis Machine, the one Zaibach has been working on all this time, turned on. I still don't know how, exactly, but..."

_I care about him so much_.

She bit her lip, and then and plunged on. "I think I did it. I said I was sick of this kind of fate and then the machine just started up, and then Issac appeared and said that fate had finally been set in motion and then we could see what was happening outside. Basram started the battle, then Cesario, then Deadalus, everyone was fighting. It wasn't just you, Van," she said, unconsciously leaning toward him as she emphasized her words.

"We were confused at first," he said, looking at the ground. "I don't think Allen really wanted to fight me. He was just defending his sister."

"That can't be all," said Hitomi. Van looked up at her again, very seriously.

"No, it isn't," he agreed. "I think I wanted to fight him because of you."

"Don't say that. Please. It's not right to fight like that. You... you really didn't have a reason to..."

"But I stopped because I heard you."

_Because I love Van. Because I really love Van._

In her throat and in her stomach, Hitomi felt as if she were falling through the air. The sensation reminded her of falling down the mineshaft at the dragon burial grounds, of the moment when she saw Van's wings for the first time and forgot to keep screaming. There was very little doubt in her mind as to what he heard in that long split second when Escaflowne's sword struck the pilot cage of Scheherazade.

_The scent of a field... Van's scent. Because I really love Van._

Hitomi watched as a faint blush spread over his cheeks. She tried very hard not to laugh. Van's difficulty in finding ways to talk openly about his feelings was one of the things she found most endearing and frustrating about him.

"I meant it," she said, feeling her face mirror his. "I'm sorry it took me so long to figure out."

"Oh," he said. "That's... that's okay. It took me a long time, too."

"Van!" she said, and threw her arms around his neck. Surprised by her sudden display, it took Van a moment to gently rest his arms around her waist. Gradually, his grip tightened as Hitomi's hands moved to his hair, and his back. She wanted to deepen the hug even further, but his sword in its scabbard stuck up awkwardly against her thighs. She sighed.

Pulling back for a moment, Van asked, "What is it?"

"Your sword is in the way."

"Oh. Hold on."

Van unbuckled the belt holding his sword in place and laid it aside. Then, before she could say anything, he put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her very seriously. "I want you to stay with me from now on."

Hitomi could suddenly smell the old barn in Asturia where Van used to keep Escaflowne, a mixture of old hay, metal, and wood, and the taste of piscus was strong on her tongue. "What did you say?"

"That I want you to stay with me from now on," he said. His grip on her shoulders tightened. "I don't want your power. I never meant to say that. I just want you."

She choose not to answer him. Instead, she placed her palm on the back of his neck and parted her lips, her breath coming quickly as she looked at his face, his dark hair parting across his forehead, his eyes. Then quickly, as if in agreement, they tilted their heads and kissed.

Hitomi was accustomed to worrying about what she was doing when in the presence of someone she had feelings for. Yukari had always enjoyed teasing her friend about Amano for just that reason, to the point that Hitomi was distracted enough about herself that she didn't have time to notice the focus of her best friend's gaze. After Allen replaced Amano, she was always acting as a barometer to his moods. Was he feeling okay? Did he think she was acting like a groupie? Did he think she was acting childish? What should she change about herself in order to become attractive to him?

But this was different. There were no worries, no nettlesome thoughts of changing or becoming less like herself. There was just Van.

There were no barriers.

* * *

The first thing General Adelphos of the ruined Zaibach army did when he returned to the capital was thank his Asturian mother's god that the city remained intact.

The second thing he did was sleep. He did not dream of the singing white light that had engulfed and devoured his army, though it would visit him in his dreams for the rest of his life. That morning, after he returned to the capital, grim and bloody, he slept as if dead.

Upon waking, Adelphos was met with a formal summons to appear before Zaibach's high military tribunal, once made up of himself and his fellow generals, and now made up of their immediate subordinates. It was there that he learned the immortal emperor Dornkirk had been killed under unknown circumstances, and that his replica of the Atlantis Machine had been destroyed beyond repair.

Adelphos did not betray his relief. He had always had qualms with Emperor Dornkirk's obsession with Atlantis and desire to control the fate of the world, and he was glad to let that part of Zaibach's past remain buried. Under the nervous gaze of the tribunal, he merely bowed his head in grief.

Because Zaibach had functioned for so long under the solitary rule of Dornkirk and the influence of his Sorcerers, the tribunal was unsure what direction to take, and had summoned Adelphos in order to appoint him as the Emperor's official successor.

"I will accept on two conditions," the general said to the tribunal. "First, I refuse to be named Emperor. I will only serve under the title of Emperor Regent. Second, I would like to continue to reside in my own offices."

Though the tribunal was puzzled by Adelphos' second request, they were moved by the first. They passed their first motion under his rule that all leaders of Zaibach would thereafter be known as Emperor Regent in memory of the man who had first rescued Zaibach from her past as a marginalized and oft invaded country.

"The people of Zaibach will appreciate this gesture, General," said General Oroboros, who once served as second in command of the army of Bronze. "We need our pride now, more than ever."

"No, General," replied Adelphos. "Right now, we need hope."


	2. The First Night

Chapter 2 - The First Night

The day Zaibach fell, there was a great exhalation, as if the world had been stuck between breaths. Markets were immediately re-opened, and people began clamoring for food, ready to plan feasts with imported ingredients in honor of their returning sons. Merchants began plotting trade-routes, ready to meet the upcoming onrush of orders for such delicacies as Cesarian vino and Egzardian dates. Children were allowed to play outside again. Desperate we-may-die-tomorrow elopements declined in number and young people once again submitted to the business of building familial alliance through carefully planned marriages. People could again rebuild their lives without fear that someone would burn them down tomorrow.

One could almost ignore the tense edge to everyone's eyes as they looked toward the place where the white light had come from, the final night of the war.

When the Alliance met that day, it was agreed that Basram's decision to use the energist bomb was instrumental in bringing the war to a swift conclusion. With their limited numbers, they could not have defeated the four armies of Ziabach without it. It was, however, a brutal method that cost many lives, including those of the allies who happened to be in the way at the time. With this complication, all the countries involved in Gaea's Great War were unsure of how to approach the situation.

And so, they chose to hush it up. Each country agreed to order their Generals not to pass on information to the general public, and made sure all the officials who knew about the plan were accordingly quieted.

The president of Basram made no move to claim victory for his country. He agreed that the Alliance was right to keep the information quiet because of the horrendous results of the explosion. At the meeting, however, he took care to inform the other members of the Alliance that Basram may wish claim credit for the end of the war one day, but was unlikely to as long as it was treated favorably in the political arena. Asturia's Prince Regent Dryden in particular seethed, but it was agreed that no one could possibly ever wish to treat Basram unfairly, and that (at least for the time being) the Alliance would honor Basram's terms. Privately, he planned on congratulating and rewarding the energist technicians who had come up with it.

It was generally known, however, that after the energist bomb had gone off, fighting had broken out among the troops. No one was sure who had made the first move (and absolutely no one was willing to step forward), but it was agreed at the meeting that this strange phenomena could be attributed to the huge blast of green light that had emanated from Zaibach's capital. What was unclear was exactly how much the blast or the green light could be held accountable for the fall of Zaibach, or what happened there when the Fanelian king disappeared within the city limits. For it was then that the fighting finally stopped.

And until King Van of Fanelia returned to Pallas, it would be unclear exactly how much credit Basram really deserved. Princess Eries made arrangements to be quite sure of that information when the time came, and did not push the issue further.

Despite the dark dealings among their ruling class, the citizens of Gaea were beside themselves with celebration. A swift and decisive end to the war to end all wars meant a fresh onslaught of trading agreements and aid to and from other countries. Fanelia and Freid, the two countries most devastated by the war, were on the top of the lists for larger, richer countries looking to present themselves as dedicated to the reconstruction of Gaea, and if they got a few treaties signed along the way, well, all the better. Fanelia in particular was the small politician's favorite target for funds. Everyone was eager to praise the young King who had been such an inspiring war hero and the mysterious girl who was known to have aided him, though no one was yet sure exactly how much.

But as the Asturian fleet darkened the horizon late that night no one could spot Escaflowne in it's midst. When Knight Caeli Allen Schezar, who was known to have been traveling with King Van, could not answer the eager questions of the Asturian High Council, they were most displeased. And because their Prince Regent was refusing to join any further meetings and the Princess Eries had conveniently gone bed for the night, they were at full liberty to question him for as long as they liked.

* * *

Hitomi opened her eyes to starlight. She could still hear the mountain spring whispering through the tree roots and down the mountainside, and the leaves above her head were sliding together in the rhythm of the wind. Van, still sleeping beside her, was wrapped in the blanket he retrieved from among the supplies provided to him by the Cesarian army. He hogged the covers, Hitomi noticed, shivering. The mountain night was far colder than the day. 

"Van," she said, nudging him. "Wake up. It's night."

Van grumbled indistinctly.

"Tch! I thought you had more discipline than that!" she teased. Van moaned, pushed against the ground to hoist himself into a sitting position, and yawned. Hitomi pointed to the sky. Filtered as it was through the leaves of the tree they were sitting under, the stars still shone close, bright, and innumerable.

"Look at the stars."

"Yeah, it's late," Van said, yawning.

"That's not what I meant! They're pretty, aren't they?"

Van smiled. "I guess. But it's still late. If we leave now, we should be able to make it to Pallas by midday."

"I guess," Hitomi mimicked, then grinned. She was still giddy, and it was difficult not to show it. She hummed to herself while helping Van pack the blanket and the water flask, despite a growing emptiness in her stomach. She loved the deliberate way he pulled on his gloves and attached his sword around his waist. She loved the cliff they'd rested on all evening. And as Van pulled her onto Escaflowne, Hitomi thought to herself that she even loved the silence between them and how they avoided each other's eyes.

Van, she noticed, didn't hum to himself or smile stupidly every time he caught Hitomi's eye, like she did whenever she caught his. Instead, he became extremely considerate in the way they interacted. He took the supplies from her when they were walking to Escaflowne, and offered to fly behind her in order to keep her warm, which she gladly accepted with the condition that he wear the blanket around his shoulders. They flew like that for some time; him quiet and accommodating, and she acting out her happiness without knowing she was doing it.

When she had run through the gamut of pop tunes she knew, Hitomi began to hum a tune that she thought she'd heard before, but the origin of which she couldn't quite recall. When she finished, Van shifted position behind her back, and said, "You have a good memory for music. That's one of the songs from Fanelia. My mother used to sing it to me when I was very young."

"What was it called?"

"I never knew the name. Folken did. He used to whistle it."

In her mind's eye, Hitomi saw Folken sitting over the desk in his makeshift laboratory in Asturia. He looked over his shoulder at her as she came barreling into the room, and she asked him to create a pillar of light that would take her to Zaibach...

"Folken was a good man," she said.

"Really? How could you tell?" said Van, an edge to his voice.

"He had a sincere smile, like you," she said, honestly. A little of the tension eased from Van's body as he steered them over the descending foothills, but there was still a certain incongruity in the customarily relaxed stance he used while flying Escaflowne. He was thinking about something, she could tell, so she chose to keep her silence and wait until he was ready to speak again.

She was admiring the long swathe of the Milky Way when Van asked, "How did my brother die?"

Hitomi was startled at Van's question. She'd been expecting it, but in her mind Van wasn't likely to ask it for quite a while yet. For a moment, she was quiet, trying to organize her thoughts before telling Van the whole story.

"His sword broke when he killed Dornkirk," she finally said. "And the tip hit him in the heart, and then he fell."

"So he did kill Dornkirk," Van said. Hitomi thought she could hear something akin to pride in the way he said that. She didn't like it.

"He shouldn't have!"

"Hitomi?"

"It's because he killed Dornkirk that the Atlantis Machine started," she said. "He was expecting it. I think he knew what I would do if-" She trailed off, then continued in a stronger voice, "That big machine he lived in opened up and he just offered himself to Folken. He even egged him on. I told Folken he would die if he came with me but he said it was his fate, and I said I'd do anything to prevent that kind of fate, and then we were there..."

"Came with you?" Van asked incredulously. "You wanted to go to Zaibach alone?"

"I- I wanted to talk to Dornkirk. I could have talked to him and told him to stop the fighting."

"Hitomi, there's nothing you could have said to make that monster stop. He was evil."

"No!" Van's head to jerked back a little from the volume of her exclamation. "He wasn't evil. He just didn't understand what was wrong anymore. If I could have just talked to him, after all that we've seen, I think he would have understood."

"No, he wouldn't have," Van retorted. "You saw what he was willing to do to accomplish his goals. He would have had you killed if you got in is way."

"Maybe," admitted Hitomi. "But killing him didn't solve anything either."

"So you think my brother died for no reason?" Van snapped, bristling.

"That's not what I said!" she answered, frustrated. "He just didn't have to do it. Killing never fixes anything. It just makes things worse."

Hitomi felt tears begin to build behind her eyes. She started breathing steadily in an effort to control her emotions, but she still wept a little while Van stood behind her, his heart beating fast. She wiped her face on her sleeves and said, "Folken was doing what he thought he had to do, so you wouldn't. He really cared about you, Van."

Through her back, Hitomi could feel Van's heart slowing, and his breathing returning to normal. She had known him long enough to expect him to snap at her or argue with her if he was angry and sulk if he was hurt. Since he didn't do either, she kept silent, giving him a moment to digest what she'd told her. She knew he trusted her insight, no matter how uncomfortable it made him sometimes.

"Let me show you something," he said, abruptly. He pulled Escaflowne into a long arc which brought them over a system of waterfalls spilling over flat-topped steppes and into a deep canyon. Hitomi couldn't see any animal activity from their height, and the obscuring darkness, but she could hear creatures calling to each other from that height, and the steady roar of falling water. If she strained her ears, she thought she could hear music.

"That river means we're in Asturia," he said. "They call it 'Jichia's Steps,' but in Cesario they call it the 'Vino Falls.' I read that the water turns purple sometimes when the sun hits it just right."

"I wish the sun was shining now," Hitomi said. "I bet it's beautiful."

Van smiled. "The beastmen think so. Rhum told me once that it's a sacred place to them, like a sanctuary. I'd like to visit it someday. Merle would probably like to see it, too. You should come with us."

"I'd like that," Hitomi said, trying to catch the thin strains of song she heard on the wind. It was, she supposed, his way of saying he was sorry for getting upset so easily. It wasn't a bad way of apologizing.

As the waterfalls and the great river faded into the distance, Van said, "You're probably right."

"About what?" Hitomi said, confused.

"That killing never really solves anything," he clarified.

"Oh. Well, I'm glad the war is over now," Hitomi said, smiling. "You won't have to fight at all anymore."

Van looked at the sky, the constellations blurred from the speed of Escaflowne's flight. "I hope you're right about that, too."

"People are sick of war. I know that they'll want to work for peace."

Van shrugged, which annoyed Hitomi a bit. "I guess you know more about politics than I do," she said frostily.

"As long as there's power in the world, people will look for it," he said. "That's all."

"And as long as people work together for peace, there won't be a need to fight for power," she retorted.

"I'm not disagreeing with you," he said, shrugging again. "I want your future more than anything."

Hitomi blushed at his choice of words, and Van continued, "And I'll do anything in my power to stop what happened to Fanelia and Freid to any other country. But there will always be people who will take what they want by force, no matter how hard we've worked for peace."

Hitomi sighed and watched more of the landscape pass by beneath them. "I know you're right, in a way," she admitted. "But there has to be a way to fight for a peaceful future without war. If anyone can do that, it's you, Van."

"I promise I'll try," he said.

"You know?" Hitomi said, looking over her shoulder at Van. "I believe that you'll do it. So I don't need promises."

At that, Van, who was never really very good with words anyway, placed his forehead against hers for a few moments. Hitomi closed her eyes and took in his scent before he pulled away to make sure Escaflowne wasn't flying off course. They didn't need to talk much for the rest of the journey. They leaned into each other, and flew on.

* * *

"General?" 

Adolphos looked up from the mess of paperwork on his desk. While his appointment had granted great relief to the dissipated masses of Zaibach, it had also landed Adelphos under a mountain of paperwork.

"What is it, private? I've got a lot of refugee claims to sort through before tomorrow without you interrupting me."

"Sir, there is a question about Strategos Folken's remains. The sorcerers have completed their analysis of the scene, and are saying he's the one who killed Emperor Dornkirk."

Adelphos put down his fountain pen and rubbed his forehead before muttering, "Folken, you damned fool."

"I'm sorry, Sir?"

"Nothing, private. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, sir. Instead of cremation and disposal in the potter's field, the Sorcerers are requesting the use of his body for research."

"I suppose it's because he was a Draconian?" asked Adelphos. The private shrugged. "All right then. It's a decent use as any for traitors such as he."

The soldier clicked the heels of his boots together, bowed, and turned to walk out the door. Then, in a flash of white light, Adelphos was seized by an idea.

"No, wait," he commanded, stopping the private in mid-turn. "No. Tell them they can't have the body. Tell the Sorcerers to put it in one of the empty meat lockers instead, and that I'll decide what to do with it later."

"Sir?"

"Go. Make sure that you take care of it personally. I don't want any sneaking about. And bring me some coffee when you come back with your report."

The private repeated his bow of before and left the room. Once alone, Adelphos stood and walked to the window. Outside, the lights of the city drowned out even the blue-white shine of the Mystic Moon, leaving only bright, cold green tinged with black. It was bright enough to see the city's outskirts from where he was situated, in the central tower of the capital building. Airships were returning home, carrying wounded or dead soldiers to medical camps situated on the edge of civilization. Most of the victims, he knew, would have strangely twisted limbs, relics of the awful white light that had felled most of their army. And beyond that, there was the ruined land.

He remembered well the words of revenge he spoke after his fleet was downed. He remembered all the bodies, burned unnaturally into shadows or faces refracting like they were underwater, and he remembered the melted earth. And he remembered which key member of the Alliance was a close blood relative of the late Strategos Folken.

The Sorcerers were incensed at this defiance of their request. Under Emperor Dornkirk, they had merely to request a certain subject, or a certain privilege, and it was granted to them. All in the name of science, of course. At first, they defied the Private, claiming that he had to have been mistaken in his orders. When the Private simply repeated what he was told to do, they grew mutinous, threatening to destroy the body if they couldn't have it for their experiments. It was not until the Private, enjoying his temporary authority under Adelphos' orders, threatened to have the Sorcerers executed for treason, that they released their prize.

This, they decided, was a bad sign of times to come.


	3. The Day After

Chapter 3 - The Day After

Celena was still asleep when the Crusade landed on the grounds of the Schezar estate. Allen had spent the entire night explaining to the indignant council of Asturia that no, King Van Fanel and Hitomi Kanzaki were not with him and no, he did not know where they were, and yes, he had last seen Van flying Escaflowne towards the capital of Zaibach. It was dawn, now that the councilmen agreed to send him home to rest thanks to a very haggard Princess Eries adjourning the council for the night.

The few servants of the Schezar family were tired and irritable as they led their lost mistress into her room, something Celena noticed and reacted to with grim silence. Allen was afraid that this would lead to complications in the future, but stayed behind for a few moments to talk to his second-in-command.

At Allen's request, Gaddes kept watch on Celena throughout the night as Allen was dealing with the irate council of Asturia. He only told Gaddes that the girl in Dragonslayer clothes was his sister, who had long ago been kidnapped by Ziabach. He did not elaborate on what she had been up to over the years, and Gaddes was prudent enough not to ask.

"She slept badly," he told Allen. "Kept calling out for someone named 'Jajuka.'"

Allen had his own thoughts on the identity of Jajuka, but once again, did not confide in his friend. "Thank you, Gaddes. Tell the men that they are relieved of duty for the night, and convey to them my apologies for keeping them so long."

"Eh, they don't mind. They were damn curious about your sister, though."

"Let them be curious."

Gaddes linked his hands behind his neck and grinned. "Heh. Mysterious as ever, boss. See ya."

Allen waved at Gaddes' disappearing figure. His eyes lingered on the disappearing Crusade before he turned to enter his home, where he took a few moments to smooth things over with Mrs. Hill, the venerable head of the Schezar family servants. She assured him that he was not to worry about waking her, and that she had seen to young mistress Celena's sleeping habit and would presently schedule a tailor as soon as she could find one. She seemed a bit ruffled about that, and Allen sincerely thanked her for her kindness. This which mollified the housekeeper enough that she promised him an especially large breakfast to welcome him and his sister home.

After Hill headed for her quarters to prepare for the coming day, Allen made a direct line for his sister's chambers. He almost barged in as he used to when they were children before he remembered that she was now a lady, and he a gentlemen, and thus bound by rules of protocol. Instead, he knocked.

"Come," said his sister, and Allan entered.

Celena had changed into a simple sleeping shift Allen recognized as one of his own.

"Mrs. Hill tried to give me this thing so sewn up with lace and ribbons that I couldn't lie down without feeling lumpy," Celena informed him "This is better, even if it isn't what I asked for."

"You appear to be wearing one of my sleeping shifts."

"I told you, I didn't want the thing. Hill brought this when I asked for some clothes."

"I see," Allen conceded, biting his lip to avoid lecturing her on the protocol of Asturian ladies concerning the procuring and wearing of men's clothing. "That gown was one of our mother's."

"I don't know how she slept in that thing."

Allen smiled. "Mother preferred her clothing to have a few frills. I suppose you prefer simpler clothing?"

"I like certain frills, I guess," admitted Celena. "You know, jewelry and stuff. I just hate things you can't even sit in comfortably."

"There will be a fitting session whenever the tailor is available. When you see her, you should let her know that you prefer minimal frills to your wardrobe."

"Why not today?"

"You should rest today."

Celena seemed to flinch at the word. "I slept ten hours straight on the Crusade. I've rested enough."

"We need to take things slowly," he said.

She sat up in bed and looked at her brother, her words coming quickly. "I feel like I've been asleep all these years. Everything in my head is like I dreamed it, or dreamed that I was seeing it, like I wasn't there half the time. I woke up and I saw the Scherezarde and I knew you were in there and I remembered, and I can't-"

"Celena, we must-"

"Don't lock me up. Please."

Allen's first impulse was to argue with her. To inform her that her sudden reappearance in Asturian society was a delicate matter, to be handled with the utmost care lest the already fragile reputation of house Schezar be once again called into question. But when he looked at the expression in her eyes a memory from his earlier days as an apprentice of Balgus tugged at his thoughts.

_One day while wandering the outskirts of Pallas, he and Balgus found a dog stuck in one of the traps set for poachers on the king's lands. Allen could not say for how long she had been trapped there, but he had never seen an animal so emaciated. There were innumerable clawmarks on the soft dirt walls of the pit. Her paws were caked with pus and dirt, and she had chewed much of her own fur off out of frustration or boredom. And then there were the flies. _

_She did not whine as Balgus drew his sword. When Balgus beheaded her with a thick thud, Allen had to turn away so he could vomit_

_"Some things aren't meant to be kept in cages," Balgus told Allen, cleaning is sword. "It's a mercy we found her when we did."_

_"Mercy?" Allen had yelled at his stoic master. "You killed her!"_

_"For a creature such as that, death is better," said Balgus. "Come now. She needs to be buried."_

Allen hadn't understood. But now, looking at the expression in his sister's eyes, he finally had an inkling of what Balgus meant then, and what Hitomi meant when she told him off in front of the refugee church when he ordered her back to the castle, to safety.

"I promise you," he said, taking her hand, "I have no intention of keeping you in a birdcage."

"Good," said Celena, breathing again. "Then we should see about getting me into some clothes."

Allen laughed, and Celena gave an unsteady grin. "You can use mother's clothes, if you like, until we can get you a fitting. But they'll have to air out for a while."

"I guess I'll just go around in this, then."

"As long as we keep the curtains closed, I'm sure no one will object."

Celena smiled, and the sun rose over the mountains, spilling light into her room. "Thank you," she said.

"Anything for you, my lady," Allen said with a bow, and he was rewarded with an unmistakably girlish giggle.

"If you'd care to join me for breakfast...?" Allen offered his sister his arm.

"Okay," she said, and got to her feet with a little less unsteadiness than when she took those few steps on the battlefield, but she did not use her brother's arm as a guidepost. Arm in arm, they made their way toward the dining room.

* * *

Merle sighed and slid to the ground outside the Asturian council chambers. It had been a whole night and Van and Hitomi still hadn't returned to Zaibach. To make matters worse, she'd missed the emergency Council meeting when the fleet first arrived, so she still didn't have a clue where they were. 

It wasn't fair! Leaving her alone like that while Hitomi ran off to help Van. She, of course, knew where Hitomi had gone, and was certain that she and Van had found each other there at the capital of Zaibach, but no one ever bothered asking _her_ anything. Well, Millerna had asked her if she was okay, once, and brought her something to drink that really calmed her nerves, but that didn't count. Millerna was sort of a friend, even if she was a stuck-up princess.

Anyway, the Council members were still discussing boring trade agreements while Dryden tried to dissuade them from being too ruthless, and Merle's eavesdropping was just not paying off.

She was almost ready to give up until another meeting, when she heard one voice say, "That Schezar was hiding something when we were interrogating him last knight, I'm sure of it."

"Why are you so sure?" asked Dryden, mildly.

"Because I know he is!" the voice snapped. "He was evasive when we asked him if he'd been transporting non-military personnel."

"That's right, he never gave us a direct answer," said another Councilman, thoughtfully.

"Who Allen Schezar did or did not transport to Pallas is none of our business. He was quite direct when we asked him whether he had King Fanel or Hitomi Kanzaki on board the Crusade," Dryden pointed out.

"He knows something," the first voice said, stubbornly. "Reports from the field indicate that he was the last person to see King Fanel before he disappeared."

Eries answered this time. "I assure you that King Fanel will appear before the Alliance when he arrives in Asturia. And may I remind you, gentlemen, that he is sovereign of his country, and not subject to our control."

A cacophony of arguing voices broke out, rendering one indistinguishable from the next. It didn't matter to Merle, though. She'd heard what she needed.

"Allen," she seethed, "I'm going to claw your eyes out!"

* * *

Van and Hitomi shielded their eyes from the sunlight reflecting off the water of Pallas' gleaming canals. It was indeed midday, as Van had predicted, and Hitomi was ravenous. 

"I'm so hungry!" she declared. "Let's land outside the city and find something to eat first, please?"

"I'm sure the council wants to meet with us," Van said dubiously.

"I can't deal with the council on an empty stomach," she groaned.

Van thought for a moment. "They probably haven't seen us coming yet, unless they've placed a lookout, and they've no reason to absolutely need us in a council session..."

"We'll only be gone one more hour. What's one more hour?" Hitomi said, her head running away with concern over her own hunger.

"Okay," said Van. "We'll fly low from now on. I'll look for a safe place to land."

Instead of aiming for the usual old barn where Escaflowne was usually stored when not in use, Van swept low around the south of the city and aimed for the forests in the lower reaches of the Chatal mountains around Asturia. This was an area generally favored by the old families or nobility for their home estates; a secluded area where they were unlikely to be disturbed known as the Nobles' Aerie.

After Escaflowne was situated, Van made a suggestion. "We'll walk to the nearest home and knock on the kitchen door. Servants would be more likely to give us food than the stuffed sleeves who live around here."

"Stuffed sleeves?" Hitomi said, laughing. "You just made a joke!"

"Don't act so surprised," he muttered, pushing through some of the thicker and lower tree branches. They could see the outline of a modest estate ahead, and the promise of food at the end of that walk was mouthwatering.

The estate was made up of two houses, it seemed. The main one, larger and decorated with many huge and airy windows, had all the curtains drawn, which Hitomi considered odd. She knew by now that natural light and open windows were quite important for warm days like this in Asturia. The sea breeze was all that could be counted as a natural air conditioning system. The second house, much smaller, looked like a carriage house which no longer housed a carriage. In the distance, however, Hitomi thought she could see a stable.

"Why do you think they've got the windows closed?" Hitomi asked.

Van shook his head. "Maybe the owners aren't home. I hope they've just gone to town, otherwise the cooks might not be in the kitchen."

Hitomi's stomach growled in fierce protest. They reached the back door, and through it, they could hear the unmistakable sounds of lunch being prepared within. Van knocked.

A few seconds later, a young man with neatly arranged dark hair opened the door. "Do you have any business here?" he quipped.

"We'd like to speak with the Head of Household," Van said. The boy raised one eyebrow at Van's shirtless state, bowed, and shut the door.

"What happens now?" Hitomi whispered, though there was no need to do such a thing.

"We wait for the head servant and then we ask permission to eat in the kitchen," he replied in a normal tone.

"I hope he comes soon," she whispered back. About a minute passed before the back door opened again. Looking back at Hitomi and Van, her red, graying hair secured in an elaborate bun, was obviously the highest ranking servant of the estate.

"How can I help you?" she said in a slightly haughty voice, eying Van as if he were doing something quite improper. Which he was, if you looked at it bluntly, seeing as he wasn't wearing a shirt. Hitomi noticed that he was trying very hard not to scowl.

"We haven't eaten since yesterday, and we'd like to request your permission to eat in the kitchen," he said.

"Eloped, have you?" she declaimed, one eyebrow arched. Before Hitomi or Van could protest, she continued with, "Well, nothing for it now. I don't know what happened to your shirt but I suppose you're small enough to fit into some of the master's old clothes. And you, young lady, your clothes are in a right state, and I don't know what I can do for you now the master's sister has returned. Come inside, and we'll see what Cook can spare. You can sit over here at the servant's table; thank heaven I sent Susan off to market and Peter's tending to the front room. I'll be back in a moment with a shirt for you, young man," she finished. And at that, she all but marched out of the kitchen and into the main house.

It seemed to Hitomi that she said this all in one breath; she certainly didn't notice the housekeeper pausing at any time to breathe. Across from her, Van sat in a rather nice old wooden chair, his arms crossed, looking sullen.

"Cheer up, Van. I think she means well."

Van shrugged, and continued to look sullen. Hitomi sighed and sat back in her chair, watching the cook maneuver between several pots and pans at once. The smell of herbs mingling with simmering vegetable was almost intoxicating. She tried not to drool.

"It's a good thing the master still had these at the back of his closet," said the housekeeper, charging back into the kitchen. She handed him a white shirt with the puffed sleeves common to Asturian fashion. "There now, you put that on and I'll go speak with Cook. She's making mushroom crepes with a heavy cream sauce today, an old favorite of the master's sister, and Cook always makes more than she needs. There now, you look much smarter now, young man. When you're done, ask for Hill and I'll send you on your way with a bit of food for later. Here, tie this around your waist," she handed him a long red sash.

When Van eyed it with horror and made no move to do as she asked, Hill sighed and said, "Very well, stand up, you must be one of the Councilmen's sons run away from home, I've seen it before; can't dress themselves at all. Don't worry, I'll mind your sword. There! Much better." she proclaimed, finishing off a knot in the sash with a flourish. The ends of the sash hung down his left side and fell all the way down to his knees. Van now looked every part the young and dashing Asturian noble, and Hitomi bit her tongue trying not to laugh. Van, it appeared, was desperately trying not to put his sword to proper use. Satisfied, Hill gave him a once over with her eyes, smiled indulgently, and bade him sit down again, which Van did with a defiant thunk.

Hill marched to the other side of the kitchen and to speak with Cook, who eyed the pair of them briefly before returning to her work. As soon as the housekeeper left the room, Hitomi burst out laughing.

"It... it... suits you..." she said, through her guffaws.

"We'll see who's laughing when the monster puts you in something worse," he muttered, as Hitomi shook her head, clutching at hear sides. She wasn't laughing at the way he was dressed. She'd seen Asturian finery enough times to cure herself of any quizzical thoughts on the matter. Van's outright indignation and ill-used expression were what was putting her into such a fit.

With a loud clank, two plates were put down in front of Van and Hitomi, along with a knife and fork and two napkins. The same young boy who had opened the door, apparently on Hill's orders, bowed to the pair of them and said, "Compliments of Cook, sir and madam."

Hitomi's laughter abated a little, and smiling through persistent giggles, she said, "Thank you."

The boy bowed once more, and returned to his duties at the front of the house. As soon as he left, Cook put two cups and a pitcher of water on the table, and without word, returned to what she was doing. Hitomi moaned with longing. Before them, a pile of beautifully sauteed mushrooms lay steaming in their crepe wrappers, drenched in light brown cream sauce. Without further ado, the both of them began devouring their meal. They were too hungry to speak, and Van, Hitomi thought, was also probably a little offended at her laughter.

Van finished first. He poured cups of water for both of them, saving himself for last. He sipped his water slowly and quietly while Hitomi finished the savoring last of her meal. It had been quite good. Hitomi didn't wonder why it was a favorite dish of the master's sister.

"That was _amazing_," she proclaimed.

"When you're hungry, everything's good," Van said, sipping his water, still looking a little moody.

"That sauce! It was like I achieved nirvana," she moaned.

"Nirvana?"

"Uh. Enlightenment. Sort of like an afterlife where you know the meaning of existence," she explained, badly.

"Sounds boring," Van said, and put his empty glass down on the table. "We should go soon."

"Just let me finish my water first." Van gave nodded and leaned back in his chair. She took that as a yes.

Then, in the distance, they heard a very loud crash and a faint yowl. Hitomi, glancing around the room, noticed that Cook had left during the course of their meal, and Hill was certainly not around, or they'd be sure to hear her exclaiming over the sudden noise. The two of them were alone in the kitchen.

"What was-?"

"Shh." Van put his finger to his lips, listening. A minute later, there was a loud giggle from the other side of the kitchen door.

"Come on, catch me! Or are you too slow?" shouted a female voice, and the door burst open. Standing in the frame was a very pretty girl with short, wavy white-blond hair. Her eyes were bright with excitement, and in one hand she held what looked like a pendant, but the charm was hidden in her palm. She was wearing a very elaborate dress that was a little too big for her. She seemed to have tucked the hem of her long skirts into a sash around her waist so that she wouldn't trip on it while running.

"I'm in the parlor!" she yelled, and turned around. With a half smile on her face, the girl looked at Hitomi rather curiously for a few seconds, before her gaze transfered to Van. He was staring back at her with his mouth hanging open.

"What are you-" he started, but before he could finish, the girl had drawn a very sharp kitchen knife from the carving block and dashed across the room to hold the tip of the blade to Van's left cheek.

She licked her lips.


	4. Reunions

Chapter 4 – Reunions

As soon as her mother's dresses finished airing out, Celena was eager to get rid of her brother's shift and get into something in which she could go to market. Hill had done a good job laying out the ones Celena would be most likely to favor, which is to say the lease elaborate dresses of the late Mistress Schezar. Out of the three hung in her room, Celena chose a blue one with short, puffed sleeves and ribbons at the shoulders, a low waist, and an extremely lacy bodice and collar. Celena admitted to loving the color, though she was sure to loudly proclaim how much she hated the lace and ribbons.

"It doesn't fit," she groaned, pulling at the waistline. The dress hung off around her skinny torso, and the skirt drug the ground, giving Celena the appearance of a long stick propping up a tent. Encia Schezar had been a tall, full breasted woman who adored frills. Her daughter was simply a waif.

"We can fix that with a bit of tailoring, dear. For now let's see what this old sash can do."

Using a pink satin sash, Hill secured the ends of the trailing skirt around Celena's waist, leaving the girl's legs bare to the knees. Celena didn't mind this so much, but Hill was all but scandalized.

"Of course, with your legs showing like that we won't be able to open the windows for a while, but at least you'll have full run of the house. Now off to lunch with you, your brother's waiting."

Allen wisely chose not to comment on the way his sister looked in their mother's dress when Celena, eyes daring her brother to say something, sat down at the dining room table. Throughout the meal, they instead talked of their plans to go to market the next day in order to meet with the tailor, which Celena demanded that she be allowed to attend in Allen's shift to save her the embarrassment. Allen was on the point of refusal when Peter, the young man training to be butler, entered the dining room with a low bow.

"Master, you have a guest. She insists on seeing you immediately."

Allen wiped his mouth with his stiffly starched napkin and said, "Show her in."

"Are you expecting someone?" Celena asked.

Allen smiled at her and said, "No. She's probably come to see you in that dress."

In response, Celena threw a roll at him. He caught it smoothly.

"Allen! Where's Van-Sama and Hitomi!?" Merle appeared before them, hands on her hips, glaring imperiously down at Allen as he put Celena's roll down on his plate.

"Merle! What a pleasant surprise. Please, sit down," Allen indicated an empty chair opposite his sister.

"Not until you tell me where they went!" she hissed, grabbing Allen by his cravat and trying to pull him out of his chair.

"The last time I saw Van, he was heading to the capital of Zaibach to get Hitomi. That's all I know," he said looking at her with stern eyes. "Now, please. Sit."

Merle reluctantly let him go, but sat down in the chair Allen had presented to her and continued to glare at him, though he returned to his food as if nothing had happened. "That's... that's really all you know?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yes."

"But the Councilmen said you were hiding something!"

"I wasn't hiding anything they asked about. Or anyone, for that matter," Allen said. "Merle, this is my sister, Celena."

Merle visibly perked up. "The one that disappeared?" She looked at Celena, who was unabashedly staring at the pink-haired catgirl. Merle grinned.

"I came back," she said, haughtily raising her head in an attempt to look imposing.

"Hmmmmmmm." Merle's tail began weaving back and forth behind her. She tapped one of her claws on the table and smiled mischievously. "So where were you all this time?"

"She was kidnapped," answered Allen. "And I very much doubt she wants to talk about it."

"Hmph, that's not very interesting," Merle answered, lazily examining her claws. Across the table, Celena was now glaring at her, which Merle chose not to notice. Allen smiled politely and tried to smooth things over.

"Merle, now that you're here, would you care to join us for lunch?"

"Sure!" she said. "What are we having?"

"I'm interesting," Celena said under her breath.

Merle flicked her ears. "Oh really?"

"We're having mushroom crepes with cream sauce," Allen cut in. "They're very good, aren't they, Celena?"

"Oh, no thanks. I can't eat mushrooms," Merle said. "But I'd love some of the cream sauce."

"I'm very interesting," Celena muttered.

"Hmmmmmm?" Merle walked over to Celena's side of the table, grinning, hands behind her back. "What makes you so interesting?"

Allen raised his eyes to the heavens, giving up the day for a loss.

"Because I'm really quick!" she shouted, lifting Merle's nail file from around her neck before the catgirl could blink. And Celena, quite steady on her feet, took off running.

"Why you- that's not funny!" she yelled after Celena's retreating form, and took off after her. Allen heard a crash and a yowl as Merle skidded too far down the newly waxed wood floors and hit the wall.

"Why me?" he sighed, slumping back into his chair.

* * *

No one breathed. There was a fiery look in the girl's eye that frightened Hitomi, and kept Van still as he tried to measure her intentions, through his breath was coming quickly. Very slowly, the girl drew the tip of the knife up Van's cheek, leaving a slight scratch. It was as if she was savoring her own power; her breathing was erratic, her eyes utterly focused on Van's face, and a wild smile curled about her lips. 

Acting out of stupid desperation, Hitomi flung the contents of her cup onto the girl's face. The water hit the girl's open eyes, causing her to jerk back and drop the knife to the ground with a loud clatter. She coughed several times, covering her face with her hands.

"Why am I wet?" she said, shaking her hands off and wiping her face on her skirt. Her eyes were bright and curious again, no longer burning as they were a few seconds ago.

"Because you tried to kill me!" van hissed. He got to his feet and stood in front of Hitomi, who was staring at the girl intensely.

"What? Is this a joke?" she said, looking uncertainly from one to the other. Her face, Hitomi noticed, was on the edge of panic. Van's hand moved to the hilt of his sword, but Hitomi grabbed his wrist before he could make a threatening move.

"Don't," she whispered in his ear, "I think she's telling the truth.

"What are you whispering about?" the girl demanded, her eyes widening.

"Give it back, you... you trollop!" screeched a very familiar voice, and Merle pounced on Celena, wresting her nail file away from Celena's weakened grasp. "That is the last time you'll ever take something from me!"

"Merle?" said Hitomi in disbelief.

Merle's head snapped to the corner they were in as if pulled by a magnetic force.

"Van-Sama..." she whispered, staring disbelievingly at Van, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Van-Sama!"

Merle flung herself unceremoniously around his waist. "Thank Goodness! I thought I'd never see you again! I knew Allen was hiding something," she added, bristling. "Oh, what did they do to your clothes? And Hitomi! How could you leave me alone like that!?"

Without letting go of Van's waist, she pulled Hitomi into the hug and sobbed harder.

"Poor Merle," Hitomi said, putting her arms around the weeping cat-girl. "You must have been scared."

"You're damn right I was scared!" she sobbed. "When you didn't come back with the fleet I didn't know what to think!"

Hitomi felt a twinge of guilt as she hugged Merle. "We had to stop and rest. I'm sorry we kept you waiting."

Van didn't say anything. He simply put his hand on Merle's back. It was all she needed.

Looking up from the reunion, Hitomi saw that the strange girl was slowly backing towards the door. She noticed Hitomi looking at her and shook her head, her eyes begging her not to say anything, to just let her go.

_Don't leave me alone!_

The words echoed in Hitomi's mind.

_Please, I want to go home!_

"Wait!" said Hitomi. Merle and Van looked up to see the girl backing away. "Don't go. Who are you?"

"She's my sister." The smooth voice of Allen Schezar wafted out of the hallway, and he appeared in the doorway behind the retreating, wide-eyed girl. "And I'm sure she's quite surprised to see you in our kitchen Van, Hitomi. I'd be surprised too, but since I met you, I've learned that you tend to show up in the most unexpected places."

"Allen?" said Van incredulously.

"Your sister?" Hitomi gaped.

Allen smiled and put his hands on Celena's shoulders. "Yes," he said. Quickly, however, he withdrew, his gloves having become considerably damper. "Celena, why are you wet?"

"Um... I..." she began.

Just then the missing Cook opened the back door and entered the kitchen. She smelled strongly of burning grass, and her eyes were unmistakably contorted into an expression of extreme annoyance. "I wasn't informed that a party was taking place in my kitchen. Pay them no mind, master, they're just a couple of runaways. Eloped, says Hill."

"Eloped!" growled Merle. The hairs on her tail stood on end and she shot Hitomi a deadly glare. Hitomi raised her eyes to the ceiling and prayed for strength.

"If they have eloped, the people of Fanelia would no doubt have a great deal to say about the situation, as Van is their King," said Allen. Celena looked quickly from her brother to Van to Hitomi to Cook, who had stopped in mid-pull with Hitomi's plate in her hand, her face very red.

"We didn't tell her," said Van.

"I imagine Hill didn't give you a chance to say anything," Allen replied. Cook pointedly ignored him, grumbled something indistinct, and went back to cleaning the kitchen.

Hitomi had been expecting a great deal of awkwardness when Van and Allen met again, after all that had happened between them. But Allen seemed so wholly wrapped up in his sister that everything that had passed between him and the young king seemed to have been forgotten. Van had not forgotten it, however. Hitomi noticed that he stood a bit guardedly, as if he were preparing himself for a confrontation any second now. Allen, on the other hand, was all graciousness and assurance.

"Let's give Cook some room and sit somewhere more comfortable. I'm honored to have you in my home," Allen said, then adding as he turned to his sister, "Celena, go change into another dress. I don't want you getting sick."

"That was my fault, Allen!" Hitomi blurted. Celena gazed at her, confused and fearful. "I bumped into her when she came running into the room. I was carrying my water and it splashed all over her."

Van glanced at Hitomi sharply, but Allen, preoccupied with Celena, accepted her explanation and led the group out into the parlor. Celena gave Hitomi a long look before hurrying off to her room, glancing once behind her shoulder for another look at the strange girl who had lied for her as she walked toward the parlor.

_Ah, you've done it this time._ An image of a boy with shocking white hair, red eyes, and a familiar smile flashed in front of Hitomi's eyes. The boy licked his lips.

_No_, she thought. _He can't be here. What was Van saying before about Celena? That she was Dilandau all this time? Is that really what happened?_

"Hitomi?" Allen's voice broke into her thoughts.

She snapped to attention. Her hands clenched together in front of her, and she looked at Allen, startled. "Yes?"

"I asked you where you would like to sit."

Allen was sitting on a lavish couch with his ankle over his knee, raising his eyebrows at her. It was a sparsely furnished parlor, with a small table in the center of two sofas and a chair built for one. The room was obviously only intended for family use. The Schezar family had never been popular among the noble houses of Asturia. Van had already sat down on the smaller sofa. Hitomi's first impulse was to sit next to him, but Merle was already there, clutching his arm in a proprietary manner. Van shot Hitomi an apologetic look, and she chose an armchair instead, reserving the space next to Allen for his sister. She concentrated and tried to clear her head of visions.

"Hitomi, are you well?" asked Allen. Van narrowed his eyes in the direction of Allen and protectively put his hand on the arm of Hitomi's chair.

She gave a nervous laugh, waved her hand and said, "Oh, yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Yes. Don't worry about it."

Allen gave Hitomi one last concerned look before saying, "I thought you would head for the palace when you came back to Asturia, but here I find you in my kitchen."

"We were hungry!" protested Hitomi.

"We didn't know you lived here," said Van. "If we had, we'd have come in through the front door."

Allen laughed. "You know, after I ran away from home, I used to do the same thing. I got thrown out on my ear more often than not. You're lucky you came here; Hill has standing orders to feed any vagrant who happens by."

"Vagrant?" Van protested, while Merle looked extremely shocked on his behalf.

"We did look the part, I guess," admitted Hitomi. "I mean, you weren't even wearing a shirt."

"So that's why you're wearing my old clothes," said Allen with a wry smile. "The sash brings out your eyes."

Hitomi coughed unconvincingly to disguise her laughter, and Merle unsheathed her claws in Allen's direction.

"As soon as we get back to the palace, I'm getting rid of these," Van promised, glowering.

Allen grinned. "It's wonderful to see you. You know, I was counting on the official reports from the Alliance to tell me what happened in Zaibach, and here you've turned up in my kitchen. Do you think you could-"

But Allen was interrupted before he could finish his request. There was a loud pounding at the front door that reverberated throughout the room, rattling the windows.

"What was that?" Van asked, on guard. Merle clutched at his arm.

Allen shook his head and put his finger to his lips. The pounding repeated, and Peter dashed through the room, his normally perfectly kept hair flying disheveled behind him. Hill followed closely behind. Celena appeared in the hall, her mother's yellow dress dragging behind her, and Allen waved at her to keep back. The girl shook her head, refusing to leave. Instead, she lingered in the hallway, pressing herself against the wall in an effort not to be seen.

There was an indistinct jumble of voices, followed by the sound of heavy boots on the wooden floors, and a group of about ten palace guards poured into the room and surrounded the group, Hill keeping abreast of the leader and Peter following closely behind.

"Sir, I told them you had guests but they insisted on seeing you right away," she panted. "By their lack of manners you'd think they weren't Asturian."

Allen regarded the guards placidly. "What business do you have here, Rasalio? As you can see, I am entertaining guests."

One of the soldiers, a man with shoulder-length black hair and square spectacles, pointedly ignored Allen. Instead, he turned towards Van, bowed, and said, "The Princess Eries Aria Aston extends an invitation to King Van Slanzar de Fanel of Fanelia and Lady Hitomi Kanzaki of the Mystic Moon for tea this afternoon, in her private sitting room."

_'Invitation,' huh?_ Hitomi thought.

* * *

Princess Eries was known to be a practical woman. She dressed for the weather, she disliked unnecessarily low-cut gowns, she always had four small meals per day, she rarely let her emotions make her decisions, and kept a well-paid circle of informants that even Meiden Fassa would grudgingly praise as quite on top of things (and of which the Moleman would never say he was a member). As soon as her lookout spotted the lost white dragon skirting the horizons of Pallas, she was sure to place the necessary orders. Of course, the moment Merle left the palace that morning and headed for the Nobles' Aerie, one of her best informants, a young scullery maid from the vast palace kitchens, had tipped the princess off early enough that Erise was able to point the watchman in the correct direction. Other members of the royal court at Pallas may doubt the worth of a beast-girl like Merle, but Erise had learned at a young age how to see worth where others refused to lower their gaze. 

Like in young and headstrong runaways...

"Princess Eries, your guests have arrived."

The quiet voice of her head lady-in-waiting washed across her memories, and she turned to her with a quiet smile.

"Thank you, Aurelia. Send them in, and ask Celia to hurry with tea."

"Yes, Princess."

Eries moved away from the window she had been gazing out of and made her way to her desk. There was a table in front of the west window at which Eries customarily had her afternoon tea, but as it was not ready yet, she resolved to welcome her guests on her feet. By the time they were at the door of the chambers, Eries was standing in front of her desk with a slight smile on her face, ready to begin talking. Or, as the case may be, ready to get her guests talking.

They were much as she had always seen them. Merle hung on Van's arm as if he would run away if she did not clutch him to herself. Which, Eries thought, was a justified fear. Van stood more or less on guard, regarding her with a closed expression and wary eyes, though he looked slightly less intimidating in his Asturian clothes than in his casual Fanelian shirt. Hitomi loped easily beside him. Her eyes were bright, her expression curious and open, and her hands dangling loosely at her sides as she gazed about the elegantly decorated room. To eyes less trained than those of Eries Aston, it would appear that the tips of Van and Hitomi's fingers only touched accidentally.

_Ah, young love_. She thought with a slight smile.

"King Van, Ladies Hitomi and Merle, welcome," she said. "Please, have a seat. Celia will be up with the tea momentarily. In the meantime, we have much to discuss."

* * *

The hot, streaming light of the afternoon sun struck Celena fully in the face as she parted the curtains in her bedroom. She was blinded for a few moments, but the sight of the harbor of Pallas gleaming bright enough to confuse the seagulls was a sight worthy enough to inspire poetry even in lifelong Asturians. Celena sighed with longing. More than anything, she wanted to go there, to see the busy market stalls and smell the sundries on a stick as she explored the streets as herself. Not as him. Not as the destroyer. 

She curled up on her bed and leaned against all the extra pillows Allen had Susan pick up from the market that day and gazed at the view, her thoughts wandering to earlier that afternoon. Why had that girl lied for her? She knew that the boy was telling the truth from the way his eyes blazed when he accused her of murder, and she herself knew what the other person inside her was capable of. But the girl in strange clothes had lied so convincingly to her brother that she herself doubted the angry boy's accusing words.

It had always been like this. Ever since she was a small girl, taken from her home and placed in the cold metal hands of Zaibach. It was gradual at first. She would be missing a few memories of the day, a few minutes or an hour maybe, but then more and more moments went missing until she felt herself disappearing completely. Jajuka, her only friend, had gotten angry at first when she told him of her missing moments, and then fearful when she quietly said she couldn't remember anything she'd done that day until she was ready to sleep, and even then all she remembered were her dreams...

Celena shook her head and chased that thought away. Sure, she acted a little young for her age. She was having fun, trying to live out the childhood she was denied through her kidnapping. She had her own memories that danced across her vision like watercolors, memories of meals, of friends, of leisurely afternoons, like moments stuck between the pages of another person's life.

Or sleep...

There was a knock at her door, and Celena tore herself away from her reverie.

"Come in!" she called, sitting up.

Her brother entered the room, a tentative smile on his face. "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" he said apologetically.

Celena shook her head. "I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"About this afternoon?"

"Just stuff. Why?"

Allen sat down in a chair opposite her bed. "I wanted to tell you a few things about the people you met today."

"Oh yeah?" Celena said, trying to keep her voice nonchalant. "They were okay. A little weird. Especially that girl Merle."

"She tends to express herself," Allen said, smiling.

Celena snorted.

"I wanted to tell you about Van and Hitomi," he continued. "Especially Hitomi."

"I liked Hitomi," Celena said. Then, after a pause of a few seconds, added, "Is this going to be sappy?"

"A little," admitted Allen. "I hope you don't mind."

"I'll deal. Go ahead," Celena settled back into her pile of pillows and fixed her cool gaze on her brother.

"A few months ago, a girl from the Mystic Moon appeared on Gaea, and the King of Fanelia, still a Prince then, was there to catch her..."

* * *

A/N - Reviews make my day. Thank you to everyone who has favorited, c2sd, reviewed, or added to their author alerts so far. If you have a moment, let me know what you think. This is my first fanfiction, so I'm still pretty new to this whole ficcing thing. :3 


	5. Tea

Chapter 5 - Tea

"What was that all about?" whispered Hitomi. The three of them were standing outside of Princess Eries' chamber doors, waiting for her lady-in-waiting to announce their presence and receive permission from her mistress to show them in.

"You don't know anything about royalty," chided Merle.

"Eries probably didn't order so many guards," explained Van, before Hitomi could get into an argument with Merle, who was licking the back of her hand quite nonchalantly. "But she did order someone to make sure we were at the palace today."

"But why?" protested Hitomi.

"We'll find out soon."

Hitomi was still uncomfortable with the situation. So many guards just to fetch the two of them? What for? They would have come to the palace anyway. What was so important that they had to be treated almost like escaped prisoners? She looked out the window and gripped her arm with her right hand, letting her left one hang at her side.

Van glanced at her. Framed in the bright western sunlight, she looked ethereal, almost like a memory or a figure filtered through colored glass. He felt his throat contract looking at her like that. Discretely, so that Merle wouldn't take too much notice, he reached over and squeezed her hand. She smiled at him in surprise, and her stance relaxed, her other arm dropping to her side.

Merle smiled as well, though the expression in her eyes did not match the corners of her mouth. She looked away.

The chamber doors opened.

"The Princess will see you now."

* * *

"Please, sit down," repeated Eries, smiling beatifically at Hitomi, Van, and Merle. With her hands, she indicated a circular table in front of a wide window with a view of the sea. The table was set for four, though there was no food or drink on the table yet. Hitomi chose her seat first, and Van made has way to a chair beside her, being sure to leave Merle a seat available on his other side, which she took with satisfaction. Under the table, Hitomi reached for Van's hand, but she grabbed at empty space as his arms were folded inaccessibly across his chest. In his expression was a sort of determined detachment that Hitomi had first seen on his face during the evening meal on their first night in Pallas, when King Aston was toasting Escaflowne and subtly attempting to keep Fanelia hidden while simultaneously appeasing Zaibach. 

"Thank you, Aurelia," said Eries to her lady-in-waiting, who bowed to the party before exiting the room, closing the doors behind her. "Thank you for coming today," she continued. "You've been staying at the palace for so long now, and we've never had a chance to talk," Eries said, looking at Van.

"We've been busy," he replied.

"As have I. It was an observation."

Hitomi thought she could detect a quirk about Eries' mouth as she made that reply. Otherwise, her expression was as smooth as polished marble, and just as transparent. Quiet reigned for a short while until Eries broke the silence once again.

"I was hoping tea would be ready by now, but the kitchens are slow today because of all the Alliance representatives."

"Representatives?" asked Van.

Eries gave her inscrutable smile. "Tomorrow morning is the second meeting of the Alliance in a series of four. There was an emergency meeting the day we got word that Zaibach had fallen. You missed that one."

"You'd think stopping to rest was a crime or something," muttered Hitomi. Merle flicked her ears and snickered.

"We were detained," Van protested. "And why did the Alliance start meeting before the representative from Fanelia was available?"

There was a light knock at the door, and a slight young woman entered carrying a tray laden with tea, honey, milk, and several cold snacks.

"Oh, the tea's here! Thank you, Celia. You can put that down in the middle," said Eries. The girl set her tray down in the center of the table and leaned over Eries, whispering something in her ear. Eries nodded. The girl gave a slight bow, and left the room.

"A certain country pushed the issue," said Eries, while pouring tea for Merle, seated to her left. Once she was done pouring, she passed the teapot to Merle, who gladly began pouring for Van.

"It was Basram," said Van.

Eries looked slightly surprised. "Yes, it was."

"Basram?" interjected Merle. She passed the teapot to Van, who began awkwardly pouring tea for Hitomi. "What did they do?"

"They dropped the energist bomb over Zaibach. So they're trying to claim credit for ending the war," said Van, his eyes darkening with each word.

"Tch! That's greedy," Merle decided.

Eries accepted the teapot from Hitomi. She carefully set the pot down in front of herself before speaking. "The Alliance has chosen to hush up Basram's role for the time being. Right now no one knows where the bomb came from, only that it was a move by the Alliance and that it helped to end the war more quickly than anyone expected."

"Why?" Merle asked.

"Because of what happened when the bomb went off," said Van. "You weren't there. You didn't see it. Everything it touched melted. Allen and I only made it because we were behind a mountain, and the mountain was halfway gone when we came to the other side."

Merle looked like she regretted asking. Hitomi, who had seen Zaibach after the bomb went off, looked down at her slices of cold meat and cheese and tried not to think about the half-bodies she'd seen. The melted earth.

"That's right. Something like this has never before been seen on Gaea," said Eries. She blew on her tea before continuing with, "And because so many Allies were killed in the course of the explosion along with most of the armies of Zaibach."

"How many?" asked Van.

"At least two thousand." Van gripped the table tightly. Eries continued, "Basram's agreed to keep quiet, but the President is still trying to claim credit for ending the war among the Allies in order to muscle his way into better treaties."

"Um, excuse me, Princess Eries?" said Hitomi.

Eries regarded Hitomi with a slight smile. "You don't need to call me 'Princess.'"

Hitomi privately thought ordering a cavalcade of palace guards to fetch them along with enough guymelef hands to transport Escaflowne to the palace without the aid of its pilot was more than enough reason to call anyone 'Princess,' but instead of voicing that thought, she smiled nervously.

"I don't know much about politics. But that's wrong of Basram, isn't it? They don't know what really happened, and they're still trying to say it was because of them that the Allies won. Basram was the first country to turn on everyone else after the Atlantis Machine was started. They tried to ram the Crusade out of the sky."

"Atlantis Machine?" inquired Eries.

"The machine Dornkirk built to control fate," said Van, harshly.

"And you say that it was activated?"

Van glanced at Hitomi, who was trying to conceal the faint blush across her cheeks by scratching her nose. "Yes, it was," he said.

Eries put her teacup down and steepled her fingers. "That's interesting. And what did this machine do?"

Van looked to Hitomi, apparently waiting for her to take the initiative and speak. He knew that the Atlantis Machine was supposed to have created perfect happiness, Hitomi realized, but she hadn't yet told him why. She swallowed, and began explaining to Eries, who was gazing at her directly. "After he died, Dornkirk told me-"

"That power of yours still gives me the creeps," Merle interrupted. Van put his hand on Merle's head and shot her a look.

Hitomi pointedly ignored Merle, and continued. "He said that his machine would grant everyone their wishes, creating perfect happiness. But then everyone started fighting. He said it was probably because that's what all humans really want: to fight for and take power."

"He has a point," observed Eries.

"But I don't agree. People stopped fighting before we destroyed the machine. They were saving themselves before we did anything. Dornkirk had it wrong."

"So the machine was destroyed and Dornkirk was killed."

Hitomi felt a little like Eries wasn't listening to her point. "He didn't understand the way human hearts work anymore."

"Be that as it may, the information you've given me could be very valuable for the sake of Gaea's stability. Which brings me to why I invited you here today. Tomorrow morning, the Alliance will meet to give a comprehensive report on what happened the final day of the war. Van and Hitomi, would you be willing to speak before the Alliance as witnesses to what happened in the Zaibach capital to end the war?"

Van, who had been leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed, suddenly came to life. "I would, but why does Hitomi need to be involved?"

"Because I'm going to need someone who witnessed Dornkirk's death to convince the Allies that Basram isn't as responsible for the end of the war as they thought."

"I could tell them; it was my brother who died doing it."

Eries blinked, and the hand that was holding her teacup slipped and spilled a bit of tea on the table. It was the first time during their tea that Eries had betrayed the slightest bit of emotion. In a split second, however, she was back to herself, and was able to reply to Van in a smooth and controlled voice while sopping up her spilled beverage. "That won't be enough for the council."

Van was close to yelling now. "She doesn't have to-"

"Please, Van," Hitomi said, putting her hand on his arm. "She asked me if I wanted to do it, not you. And I do."

"Hitomi?"

"Eries is right. They're not going to take the word of someone who didn't see it happen."

When Van looked like he was still about to protest, it was Merle who spoke up on Hitomi's behalf. "You may as well give in. She's going to do it whether you think she should or not."

Hitomi smiled at Merle gratefully. "This is my chance to do my part for Gaea and Fanelia. Besides, it shouldn't be worse than exams at school."

"'Exams?' What is she on about?" said Merle under her breath.

"You've done enough already," Van said quietly, looking at Hitomi.

She gave him a slight smile. "I want to do something more than telling fortunes."

"So do you agree?" said Eries, causing the two of them to break away from each other.

"Yes," said Hitomi.

Eries smiled at them. "Thank you. What you will do tomorrow will not only stop Basram from taking too much power, but will help give all credit where it is properly due."

"What do you mean?"

But Eries smiled and did not answer the question. "I have to get to the council meeting in a half hour. They're interested in speaking to you, Van, would you care to-"

"No," he said, and got to his feet, "Thank you for the tea, Princess." He bowed curtly and strode out of the room, followed closely by an anxious Merle.

"He does that sometimes," explained Hitomi, getting to her feet.

"It is of no matter," said Eries. "But thank you for coming today."

"Yeah, thanks for the tea."

Unconsciously imitating Van, Hitomi quickly bowed to Eries and then dashed out of the room after him. But when she got into the hallway outside of Eries' chambers, he and Merle had vanished.

"Damn it," she whispered, looking back and forth down the empty hallway. Absolutely no one was in sight. Sighing to herself, she picked a direction and began walking down it. She wasn't going to run around looking for him, not after he got up and left her like that. What did he mean by it, anyway? Did she do something to make him angry? Well, it was his fault for holding his temper so close to the surface, anyway. And it wasn't as if he could make her decisions for her. Eries' request was her choice to make and no one else's. He was just being overprotective.

Hitomi stopped and leaned against one of the large open windows in the castle. It occurred to her that she hadn't spent any waking moment without Van since they'd both escaped from Zaibach yesterday morning. It was strange. She felt almost lonely without him beside her, even if he did make her mad.

_Lonely_, she thought. _I wonder if my mom is lonely without me..._

"Hitomi?" chirped a familiar voice. Hitomi turned around, and standing behind her with a pile of books in her arms and her wavy blond hair tied up in a bun was Millerna.

"Millerna!"

A warm smile spread across Millerna's face, and she maneuvered the books she was carrying on to one hip so she could pull her friend into a one-armed hug. "Oh Hitomi, it's so good to see you! I was really worried! No one knew what happened to you and Merle wouldn't say anything about it." She released her friend and held her at arm's length. "You look so tired! I was on my way to my room to do some studying. Do you want to come with me?"

Hitomi smiled gratefully. "Yeah, I really would. I could use some girl-talk right now."

"Girl-talk?"

"Nevermind."

"It's one of those Mystic Moon words, isn't it?" said Millerna, her free hand on her hip. "Well, I don't care. Come on and we can talk all you want. It's Eries that likes to go to the Council meetings, not me, so I've got the whole night free."

"Thanks, Millerna," said Hitomi gratefully.

* * *

Van stepped out of the small closet attached to his room, pulling on a fresh Fanelian style shirt. He had kicked Allen's old shirt against the wall, and was contemplating tearing the sash to pieces, but instead dropped it unceremoniously on the floor, where it would later be exclaimed over by the maid for being cut from such fine fabric. Merle, who had been sitting cross-legged on the end of Van's bed while he changed, was humming to herself while she watched him change. 

"I'm going to the roof," Van said. Merle nodded and jumped off the bed, ready to follow him out the door, but instead Van opened the window and began climbing the castle walls. Delighted, Merle leaped up and followed him until they reached the overhanging eaves at the top of the palace. They settled down next to each other, their legs hanging over the side with the confidence felt only by those with quick reflexes or wings.

"Are we going to watch the sun set?" Merle purred.

"If we're up here long enough."

Merle took his arm, and he stiffened. She pulled back with a confused frown. Instead, she sat as close to him as he would allow, kicking her legs back and forth over the edge of the roof.

"You're thinking about this afternoon," she said. It was a statement, not a question, and Van caught himself wondering how Merle always knew these things.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

Van didn't speak.

"You know, I think Hitomi's getting in over her head with those vultures, too. But it's her decision, you know?"

Van shrugged.

"You shouldn't have run away from her like that."

"I needed some time to myself," he shot back, moodily.

Merle rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air in an 'I don't really care,' gesture.

They sat in silence for a long while, watching the edge of the sky take on a pale purple tinge as the sun began its long fall back to the other side of Gaea.

"You should tell me," Merle said.

Van snapped out of his reverie and looked at her. "Tell you what?"

"About you and Hitomi. I can see it, you know. I'm not stupid."

An image of himself grabbing Hitomi's hand before they entered Eries' chambers flashed across his mind. "I didn't want- I mean, I couldn't just-"

"I'm happy for you."

Van watched Merle in quiet concern as she told him this. She didn't speak to him, but to the sky. "I really am. She returned your feelings just like I said. I like Hitomi a lot, and I'm glad for you both. I just think you should have told me."

He placed his hand on Merle's back. "I didn't want to hurt you," he said, almost inaudibly.

Merle laughed. "I've known how you felt longer than you have, Van-Sama. You don't need to worry about hurting me anymore."

But still, he noticed, she didn't look at him. He pulled her close and let her rest her head on his shoulder like they used to when they were much younger and didn't worry about complicated things like the nature of affection. Merle buried her face in his chest and hugged him around the waist.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Merle shook her head and muttered something he couldn't hear. Then, very quietly, she began crying. It was different from earlier that day, when she had loudly sobbed out of relief, or any other time he remembered her crying for that matter. Merle had never been shy about anything she felt; she simply acted on her feelings and wasn't ashamed of what might result, whether it was teasing people, stealing a few things out of Hitoim's gym bag, or insulting a King. This Merle, Van thought, knew what it was to hold back.

He knew that she would always be his friend. But the carelessness and complete openness of their youth had changed into something careful; almost like touching from a distance.

* * *

Hitomi and Millerna made their way to Millerna's room, which was located in one of the corner rooms of the palace, overlooking the courtyard. It was very late afternoon by this time, and the sun was playing riotously on the fountain below, casting undulating reflections into the large bedroom. Hitomi had never been in Millerna's bedroom before, only her closet with is huge rows of dresses and shoes and the lavish room in which she kept her jewelry and various other possessions. In contrast, Millerna's bedroom was sparsely decorated, with a desk in one corner, several bookshelves filled with medical texts in another, and a large bed against the back wall. 

Millerna set the books on her desk, which was covered in stacks of paper. "I don't have any chairs. We'll have to sit on the bed. I don't usually bring anyone in here."

"That's fine," said Hitomi, sitting on the bed and sinking down a few inches into the mattress. "I've sort of missed this kind of thing."

"What do you mean?" said Millerna, settling down beside her.

"When I used to hang out with my friend Yukari, we'd spend a lot of time in her room. She's an only child so she has a really nice, big bed in her room that we used to sit on and gossip about stuff. I wonder what she's doing now..."

"Hmmm. You've been thinking a lot about home lately," Millerna observed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"You're an open book, Hitomi," Millerna teased.

"Aaaugh, You can see right through me," Hitomi fell back onto the mattress with a huge sigh.

"It's because of Van, isn't it?" said Millerna gently.

"Yeah."

Hitomi gazed at the ceiling and tried not to think about it. Millerna stood up and began organizing her newly acquired books, flipping them open to write her name on the inside cover before putting them up on her shelves. "Love is hard," she said.

"But it's so easy to do. To love him."

"I know."

"I feel like I've wasted so much time already. I keep thinking, 'If only I'd done a few things differently,' or 'I should have realized earlier, or 'I wish I hadn't...'" Hitomi trailed off, letting her unsaid actions linger in the air.

"No matter how much time you have, you can't predict the future. Dryden left me," Millerna said, still organizing her books.

"He did?" Hitomi sat up, shocked. She never thought that Dryden, who was crazy about Millerna, could ever possibly have left her. "Why?"

"He said he had to make himself worthy of me," she said. Then she shut the book she was signing with a loud snap. "He gave me back his ring, told me he loved me, and walked out the door."

"Millerna..."

"He's still here. In the palace, I mean. The council won't let him go yet. They say it would make Asturia look bad if the Prince Regent doesn't attend those Alliance meetings. But I haven't seen him. I think he's avoiding me."

"Well, it'd be a little awkward, wouldn't it?"

Millerna smiled, and turned to Hitomi. "It would."

"Are you okay?"

"I think so," Millerna said. "I didn't realize it until Dryden left, but I've been looking at love wrong my entire life. I used to think that lovers were supposed to make you happy. Allen, and then Dryden, all I wanted was for them to make me happy. And they did, in a way. But you can't rely on love for that. You have to create your own happiness."

"So... are you happy?"

Millerna filed the last of her books, then tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "A little. I'm working on it."

Hitomi shifted awkwardly in her seat, leaning back on her hands. "Millerna... how do you feel about Dryden?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Complicated. He can be so coarse sometimes but he's funny and he loves me. And he can be so kind. No matter how much I loved Allen, he never really returned my feelings. He was always so distant. But Dryden... I don't know. And now he's going to Zaibach to sell medical supplies at half price."

The two girls laughed. "That's just like him," Hitomi giggled.

When their laughter died out, Millerna spoke again, almost contemplatively. "When he comes back, maybe we can get to know each other again. I might even give him another chance. But I have to make myself happy first. And I suppose he does too."

_Time apart..._ Hitomi thought.

"I've been doing all this talking and I haven't even asked you about where you've been," Millerna said, joining Hitomi on the bed. "Where did you and Van run off to for two days?"

Hitomi grimaced. "How did you know I was with him?"

"Call it women's intuition," she replied, pointing to a dark mark on Hitomi's skin where her neck met her shoulder, barely visible above her collar. Hitomi blushed and covered the spot with her hand.

"We didn't do anything," she muttered.

"Your face says otherwise."

"Anything _much_," she grudgingly amended.

Millerna started laughing, and after putting up a great effort to be affronted, Hitomi couldn't help but join her. The bright laughter of the two girls mingled and echoed out the window, bouncing off the walls of the courtyard under the setting sun.

* * *

A/N: Reviews extremely welcome, as always. Next: some action? 


	6. Market Day

Surprise! Updated 1 day early because I got ahead in my writing. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 6 - Market Day

Hitomi woke early the next morning with a start. It wasn't quite light outside yet, but the birds were singing loudly enough to give even the heaviest sleeper chirp-filled dreams. She yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and caught herself wondering if Van was still asleep.

She had spent most of last night talking to Millerna about all that had happened in Zaibach and in between. Millerna was a good audience; she gasped in the right places, laughed in others, and grinned mischievously at all the most inappropriate times. She was even sure to order them a light supper when all the rest of the palace would be dining downstairs, sensing that Hitomi would prefer not to run into anyone who would ask her the same questions she'd heard since she got back from Zaibach. More and more, Hitomi noticed how much Millerna was like Yukari. Then again, she was quite different from her in others, especially in the ways they carried themselves. Both of them, at least, knew how to be there for their friend.

When Hitomi retired to her room very early that night, she found a note from Princess Eries with instructions on when to appear before the Alliance and a suggestion to turn up early in case they switched the time. As the meeting was not scheduled to begin until mid-morning, Hitomi had a window of several hours before she was expected to be anywhere. After taking care of her personal bathroom business, Hitomi looked out the door of her room. She was able to catch one of the servants who was on the way to the kitchen to help with breakfast for the habitual early risers, and asked her to find someone who could draw her a bath. The girl bowed slightly and hurried off, and in forty miets by Gaean standards, Hitomi was soaking in a wonderfully hot bath; her first since before she teleported to Zaibach.

After soaking away all the accumulated sweat and dirt of the past few days, Hitomi stepped out of the bathtub and dried herself off, starting with her hair as she didn't like the feeling of water dripping down her body after bathing. She felt almost new. The sun was just barely beginning to rise outside of the narrow bathroom window, and the sky was a blurry light grey. She decided that it was time to get dressed and see what the had been laid out on the table for breakfast. Her hair still wet, she made her way to the dining hall.

Food was still being set up when she arrived. But luckily for her, there was a huge pot of strong tea on the table, as well as a platter full of toast. Her mouth ached for some fish and rice, but she supposed that toast was better than nothing.

Just as a covered platter of cooked eggs and a plate of fruit were set down on the table, Hitomi heard someone coming towards her. She wasn't surprised. After all, she thought to herself, the food had to be out for some reason. She glanced up from buttering her toast to see Van. He seemed to hesitate for a split second before walking towards Hitomi, grabbing a chair from the ones spaced around the table, and settling down in it rather closer to her than was the common custom in Pallas.

"I've never seen you here this early," he said.

"The birds woke me up," she relied frostily, piling some eggs onto her plate.

"I'm sorry I ran out on you yesterday," he said, pushing some stray hairs behind his ear. "I shouldn't have gotten mad."

For a moment, Hitomi had a mad desire to refuse forgiveness and throw her tea in his face. But then again, her inner logic reminded her, he did have a right to go where he chose without her permission, even if his methods weren't polite as they should be. Just as she had a right, her inner anger reminded her, to do as she pleased without him trying to protect her from the world. At that last thought, she found herself spilling out all the things that had gone through her head yesterday without meaning to.

"I can make my own decisions. I know that it's not going to be pleasant, but I've got to tell them the truth about what happened. And you don't have the right to try and keep me from it, even if you are trying to protect me."

"That's not it! I just..." Van sighed, and ran his fingers through his air, making it stand up at the back. "I didn't run out because you weren't listening to me. You told me off once for trying to use you like a tool, right? That's what Eries was doing. I know that the truth has to be told, but I don't want you to be used as political leverage."

"It's not about leverage! It's about doing what's right."

"I'm trying to tell you that you did the right thing!"

"Oh!" Hitomi said, feeling a little taken back. "Well! That's... fine then."

"Eries was being manipulative, no matter what her intentions actually were. That's why I left."

Anger draining away and feeling slightly embarrassed, Hitomi busied herself by piling eggs on her toast. "You shouldn't have left... but it might have been for the best. I got to talk to Millerna after you left," she said, then paused to take a bite of toast and egg. After she swallowed, she continued with, "I knocked on your door before I went to bed, but you didn't answer."

"I was on the roof."

Hitomi took a swallow of tea, and then put her cup down. "Was Merle with you?"

"For a while. She left after sunset."

"I'm glad you got to talk," she said, with a slight smile.

"Yeah," said Van. After glancing at her as if to seek permission, he awkwardly put his hand on her thigh, just above the knee. He wasn't wearing gloves. No one was in the dining hall but them, but Hitomi blushed just a little. With his other hand, he took her by the shoulder and pulled her towards him, placing a soft kiss on her cheek, then neck.

"Your hair's wet," he said softly, in her ear, causing Hitomi to shiver slightly.

"I took a bath this morning," she managed to get out, before he laced his fingers through her hair and kissed her once again on the neck. She gasped. Leaning back from him, she quickly placed her hand over the one he had on her thigh, gently pushing it away and taking it in hers.

"If I'd have known you'd be like this I might have gone for you sooner," she joked.

"Give me more time and I'll make you wish we started this the first time you saw me."

Her lips parted in surprise and she felt a thrill move through her. He was almost too much. She knew, suddenly, that if the time came for them to become more... intimate, she would be quite powerless to resist him. Not when he looked at her like _that_.

She was leaning in to kiss him when, from the other side of the room, someone cleared his throat.

"Now, I'm all for there being a little more love in the world, but even I restrain myself at the breakfast table."

"D- Dryden!" Hitomi practically flew across the floor until her chair was two feet away from Van, and her face as red as his shirt. Van, on the other hand, stayed where he was, glaring at the intruder in annoyance.

"Hello there," Dryden said, striding toward them with a grin on his face. "You seem to be having a good morning, so I won't need to wish it. What's for breakfast?"

"I don't usually see you here so early," said Van.

"Oh, you know how it is. Hard to stay asleep before the day of a big trip. Looks like we've got toast, eggs, fruit, tea, and some nice-looking sausages. Too bad I'm a vegetarian."

"Big trip?" said Hitomi, smoothing her skirt and still blushing furiously.

"I got good news last night! After this meeting, the Alliance is going to deliberate for a week on what they hear today. So I'm going to let Eries handle the council and make a quick trip to Zaibach and back. Try to get a few gidarus under my belt for my new fleet." Dryden loaded his plate with toast and fruit, ignoring the tea for a large glass of water.

"Oh! Millerna told me you were going to Zaibach."

Dryden looked at Hitomi sharply. "Did she?"

Hitomi felt that she could have bitten off her own tongue. "Um."

"Nice to know she's talking about me," he said blithely, working through his breakfast. Hitomi mentally kicked herself, and took the opportunity the break in the conversation offered to finish her own neglected plate. Van simply drank a cup of tea, looking contemplative.

As soon as Dryden polished off his large breakfast, he leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "So! What are you kids doing with the rest of your morning? You've got a long time before the meeting."

"We're, ah, we're not sure yet," replied Hitomi.

"You should try going down to the bazaar! There's going to be a big shipment of Egzardian ladies' fashions on sale today. You might want to look into it for later."

"Huh?" Hitomi was completely mystified by this odd suggestion.

"Van," Dryden continued, "I thought you might like to know that there's another shipment arriving today you'd be interested in. Seems that your Fanelian refugees have been busy. My venerable assistant informed me last night that a good selection of Fanelian dyes is going to be available for trade today."

Van stiffened in his seat and looked at Dryden in shock. "I haven't heard anything about this."

"You've been off to war! You couldn't help it. Besides, a nation as famed as Fanelia for its military prowess surely has understanding citizens when it comes to matters of war."

"I- Thank you," said Van.

"Don't thank me. I didn't do anything. But if I were you, I'd go down to the bazaar and say hello to my subjects. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you."

"We'll plan on it," said Hitomi, as Van was currently rendered speechless.

"Good to hear it. Well," Dryden said, standing up, "I'm off. Got a lot of preparations to make for the trip tonight. See you at the meeting."

When Dryden disappeared from the room, Hitomi turned to Van, whose expression was still a little incredulous. "He has a strange way of expressing himself," she said, "But I think he gave us good advice. I think I'd like to visit the bazaar."

"Strange is an understatement," Van said.

* * *

A short while later, Van and Hitomi were walking up the main street of the Asturian Bazaar. Hitomi had wanted to invite Merle along in order to cheer her up with the news that Fanelia's citizens were trading again, but after Van insisted several times that she was probably still asleep, Hitomi instead wrote her a note and slipped it under her bedroom door. The sun seemed to be only a few inches over the horizon by now, and the streets of Pallas still contained the chill of morning. Sellers were still setting up, and the sundry shops that lined the bazaar's main street in order to take advantage of spillover on market day were just unlocking their doors.

"I've never really gotten to enjoy the bazaar," said Hitomi. "I wonder if that wolf-man is still selling CD's?"

"Ah," said Van, ignoring the unfamiliar word as he looked around for any Fanelians. Hitomi casually took his hand, taking advantage of his state of distraction. He didn't protest. He even absently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, which Hitomi thought was quite a pleasant sensation. It was nice to be walking like this, without worrying who was watching or whether their behavior was proper.

Finally, they reached the last of the bazaar corridors, and there in the middle of the row was a very brightly decorated stall, with a row of dry ingredients lined up in large bags in front. It was currently being stocked with a rainbow of square bottles. A young cat-man was directing a pair twin girls, who were taking boxes from the back of a huge yak. Hitomi thought they looked like a family, though the girls were obviously not beast-people.

It was one of the children who saw them first. She nudged her sister, whispered to her, and then the both of them looked at the Van and Hitomi and giggled. The cat-man turned around.

"King Van!" he exclaimed. He had a surprisingly deep voice. From his lithe appearance, Hitomi thought that he would sound more like Chid than Balgus.

"I was expecting Rhum," said Van, "But any Fanelian is a welcome sight at this market."

The cat-man laughed with his whole body. "And I was expecting Merle, but I'm just as glad to see Lady Hitomi."

_'Lady Hitomi???'_, she thought, incredulous. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the girls grinning at one another.

Van let go of Hitomi's hand and walked toward the cat-man, arms extended. They slapped each other on the back and began talking about affairs back home, while Hitomi hung back, extremely aware of the stares and whispers of the twin girls. She felt a hotness begin under her collar, and wished very hard that she was wearing something that stuck out less. Fidgeting with her skirt, she looked around the bazaar for something to distract her.

Unexpectedly, something actually caught her eye. Celena Schezar, wearing a light pink, lacy gown that was obviously too big for her, was making her way down the street, accompanied by a girl Hitomi had never seen before. She waved, a tentative smile on her face, and Celena saw her. She mouthed something Hitomi couldn't make out, then nudged her companion. Though her companion didn't look entirely pleased about it, the two of them walked towards Hitomi, Celana smiling all the way.

"Hitomi!" she said, "Hi!"

"Hello. What are you doing out here so early?"

Celena's expressive eyes shone with excitement. "I'm finally going to get some clothes of my own. The tailor here said that this was her first available appointment. Personally, I think it's fine that it's so early, so no one sees me in this thing." She picked at her skirt and smiled embarrassedly.

"You look fine," Hitomi assured her.

Celena saw right through this lie. "I do not! I look like I'm wearing a blanket. Ugh."

"Miss Celena, we'll be late if we don't hurry," said her companion, who was looking at the girl with surprising sternness for someone so young.

"Fine," sighed Celena, rolling her eyes a bit. She began turning around, then paused, and seemed to be considering something. Hitomi looked at her questioningly.

"Um. You seem to be a little busy," Celena said.

"Van's greeting his subjects. I feel a little out of place, to be honest," Hitomi admitted.

"Good! I mean, that's not good. Do you want to come with me? Susan has some errands to run so she's going to leave me alone while I'm getting measured."

The way the girl emphasized the word 'alone' pulled at something in Hitomi's memory, and Celena seemed as if she were genuine in her invitation. Besides, Van was probably going to be busy with the Fanelians for a little while longer.

"Sure, I'd love to," she agreed. "Just let me tell Van where I'm going."

Celena nodded. "We'll be at number twelve, over there."

Hitomi nodded, and began walking towards Van and the bass-voiced cat-man. She was able to hear snatches of what the twin girls were whispering through the domineering voices of the two men.

"We have to bring in some currency for supplies, and Rhum's group came through with these bottles from burnt-out storehouses in the capital."

"...do you think they're going to..."

"Once I get the dragons out, Eiru, we can start in earnest."

"...awfully young, I wonder..."

"Van," said Hitomi. The cat-man looked at her with eyes wide at her casual choice of address as Van turned around to answer her.

"Hm?"

"I'm going to go with Celena to her tailor. I'll come back after we're done."

Van looked at Celena suspiciously, who was bouncing back and forth between her feet and smiling anxiously in his direction. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Hitomi said firmly. "It'll be fine. She just wants some company, and I think she needs to talk."

"Which shop are you going to?"

"Number twelve. It's on this street."

"Listen," Van took her by the shoulder and leaned forward, speaking to her softly. "If she acts suspicious at all, close the curtains. I'll come to you."

"You have my services as well, Lady, though I confess I can't see the harm in one so young," added the cat-man, Eiru, running a hand through his orange hair.

"I'll be fine!" Hitomi insisted again. Realizing she spoke a little too harshly, she added, "But, uh, thank you. I'll see you in a little while."

When Hitomi joined Celena, Van and Eiru were still glancing surreptitiously in their direction. She hoped that Celena wouldn't notice how rude they were being, and shot her an apologetic smile.

"Thanks," Celena said, earnestly, and Hitomi immediately banished all doubts that Van had placed in her mind. The girl was every part the lonely, excited teenager; nothing like the crazed apparition that had held a kitchen knife to Van's face yesterday.

Susan pushed open the door of the tailor's shop, and a bell rang, announcing their entrance. It brightly lit inside, though all the windows save the small one in the door were covered in dark blue drapes. Hitomi looked up and saw that the light was achieved by a glass ceiling. A small wooden platform situated in the middle of three mirrors sat against the back wall. As soon as they stepped over the threshold of the shop, the tailor came out, a very old woman who looked like she may have been half beast. She spoke very softly as she welcomed the young Miss Schezar to her shop, and tactfully did not say anything about her current clothing, though she did purse her lips disapprovingly. Susan left for her errands the moment Celena was situated on the pedestal.

"She's been in a hurry to leave me all morning," said Celena. She seemed a little upset about it, but equally determined to shrug it off.

"She's probably just busy," Hitomi assured from her seat in the corner, while the old tailor lifted Celena's arms to measure the length of her torso. "But she shouldn't be so anxious to leave you. Your brother wouldn't like that."

"You think?"

"Yes. I think he wants to keep you safe more than anyone else in the world."

"Yeah, I guess," said Celena, a little abashed. "He was pretty upset he couldn't come with me this morning. Some people from the palace came and said that all the Knights Caeli were supposed to be on duty today."

"Poor Allen. He never gets a break, does he?"

Celena laughed, an energetic sound that caused the tailor to misstep a bit in her measuring. "That's exactly what he said!"

Hitomi smiled, and Celena's giggles died down after a short time. When the tailor allowed the girl to put her arms down, Celena yawned hugely. Hitomi noticed that she had dark circles under her eyes.

"Sorry," she said, yawning again.

"Did you sleep enough last night?"

"Uh, not really," admitted Celena. "Ever since I came back, I've had nightmares. They don't let me sleep very well."

"I've had... nightmares like that before," Hitomi said, glancing at the tailor. "About bad futures, or my friends dying. I guess it was because I didn't believe in them. But now... now I mostly dream about the past."

The tailor bowed and left the room with her measurements, muttering something about fabric and style samples. Celena hopped down from the platform. She sat down next to Hitomi and bit her lip, her silvery hair glinting under the skylight.

"Allen told me about you last night. He said that you would probably know about me already, because of your- because of Van."

Hitomi put her hands in her lap and looked up at the skylight. "Yes. He told me that you were someone else, once. But you're you now, right? So whatever someone else did in the past, it wasn't you."

"It's not that," Celena said, very quietly. "I can't sleep at night because that's when he comes out."

"Celena..."

"All those years I wasn't completely gone. The Sorcerers and their machines and drugs, they pushed me into the back of my own mind and made someone... else... I... there were days I could see through the curtains, I guess, when he was concentrating very hard on something or when he was shocked, I could push myself to the surface. Be me again... at least in part. But I was most myself when he was asleep. And that's where he is now."

Celena pulled her knees up to her chin and rested her head there, arms draped loosely around herself. "I remember some days I would walk around and it was like I was in an aquarium. I didn't understand anything on the other side of the glass. And I couldn't remember who I was or where I'd been... it was only when I was dreaming that I could make sense of any of it. And Jajuka. Poor Jajuka. When I go to sleep I see him dying, and then I can feel Dilandau pressing at the walls of my mind... and I wake up."

Hitomi was quiet for a moment, thinking. A large bird seemed to fly across the sun, briefly casting its shadow into the shop before flying on. Slowly, Hitomi said. "Did you say that Dialandau wasn't a real person?"

"Not... not exactly. He... oh, this is hard. He's what they made in me. He had his own desires and hates and ambitions and fears. I could always feel him thinking with my thoughts, an... intruder in my own mind. He would have been disgusted if he ever knew that he shared a body with a woman. He hated women. He loved hurting things he hated. They wanted to make the perfect soldier, but what they got was this... this... fractured image... and..." Celena was shaking, and Hitomi gripped her hand harder.

"But the Sorcerers made him. He isn't a real person. Not without you. Why do you think they kept you drugged for so long?"

"I..."

"You're stronger than he is, Celena. Without you, he isn't real."

Celena looked up at Hitomi, her eyes wide and her mouth partway open. "You-" she began, but was suddenly interrupted by the tinkling sound of the door opening. The two girls looked up. A man in brown leather armor with a long sword hanging from his hip stepped into the shop, his boots landing heavily upon the floor. He looked around the room until his eyes finally rested on Hitomi and Celena in the corner. They stared at him, and he smiled unpleasantly.

At that moment, the tailor came back into the room an armful of fabrics and a sheaf of well-handled fashion designs. "Fittings are by appointment only sir, if you could just-"

But before she could finish her sentence, the man hit the old woman across the face. A stream of blood arced in the air and she fell to the floor, unconscious.

To her credit, Hitomi didn't dissolve into hysterics. She rushed to the old woman's side to make sure she was still alive. The old woman was still breathing. Celena looked from Hitomi to the man back and forth, quickly, like a frightened bird. Hitomi turned on the tall, thin man, prepared to kill him if necessary.

"Get out! Get- mmmph!"

More quickly than Hitomi could dodge, the man put his hand over her mouth and pinned her arms behind her back with his other one. She screamed against it, and struggled as hard as she could, but he seemed to be far stronger than she.

"Let her go!" shouted Celena, getting to her feet. She was obviously very frightened; her voice trembled as she spoke. "I'll scream if you don't let her go!"

"If you scream I'll cut her throat." His voice was strangely high-pitched. Hitomi felt somehow worse about the situation when she heard the man talk. "You will sit there. I will take her out the back door."

Hitomi tried to shake her head, to tell Celena somehow that the man couldn't possibly cut her throat while he used both hands to keep her still, but she couldn't move her neck in his strong grip. But something seemed to be coming over Celena. Her face, which had been tight with fear, was now changing aspect. Anger was overtaking her delicate features. She nodded.

"Good girl," said the stranger, and he began walking Hitomi across the floor.

More quickly than she should have been able in her voluminous dress, Celena shot across the tiny shop and in a long, fluid sweep of her arm stole the sword from the intruder's sheath.

"You filthy little maggot," she snarled. "Did you think I was stupid? Your hands are as tied as hers."

Without waiting for the man to answer, she drove the tip of his sword into his arm just below the shoulder, severing something inside him. The hand covering Hitomi's mouth dropped limply at his side, and Hitomi twisted around in his grip and kicked him, hard, in the knee. He let go of her quickly to try and staunch the blood oozing out of his shoulder and relieve the pain in his knee.

"You made a mistake," he promised. Hitomi glared at him defiantly, dragging the unconscious tailor behind Celena's, who was regarding the man with a mixture of a somewhat scary smile and utter detachment in her eyes. From one of the folds of his armor, the man pulled out a short sword that looked ceremonial. Working with his left hand, he lunged at Celena, who stepped forward to meet his onslaught. At the last second, however, he feinted, swiping at the girl's torso. The sound of silk ripping reverberated in the shop, and Celena shrank back under the sweep of his blade.

For an awful moment, Hitomi was convinced that Celena had been injured, perhaps mortally. But Celena only smiled. There was now a huge cut in the pink silk of her dress, through which a slight rip in her underwear was visible. Before the man could strike again, Celena lunged forward and met his short sword with steel.

"Amateur," she snarled. "People like you make me sick."

She thrust the sword forward and forced the man to lift his good arm over his head, then twist around and try to get a good angle on her from there. But she was too quick for him, and nearly slit his throat the moment he turned around. He stepped back, shaken, before stepping towards Celena once again. She met him equally with an upward block.

Taking advantage of the moment, Hitomi ran over to the door and pulled the curtains shut, hoping that by doing so she wouldn't alert the intruder that she'd sent off a signal for help. The clashing of swords echoed throughout the tiny room.

With a cruel twist of her sword, Celena had managed to pin the man to the wall, her sword flush against his throat.

"My, my. What shall I do now? If I move my sword just a little I could cut your throat..." Celena purred. The man was staring at her with hate in his eyes, but his face was white. Whether it was from lack of blood or fear, Hitomi didn't know. She only knew that Celena was beginning to frighten her.

Celena pressed her sword into the man's skin just a little, and blood began to trickle down his neck.

"Now-" she began, but quite suddenly, the door to the shop was thrust open. Van stood in the doorway, his sword drawn, followed closely Eiru, who was sporting nothing but his claws. Celena turned to them, distracted.

In a split-second, her prisoner kneed the girl, hard, in the stomach, causing her to double over in pain. He quickly vanished into the back room of the tailor, and out the back door. Celena coughed, holding her stomach and cursing under her breath, while Hitomi ran to her, words of comfort pouring from her lips.

As if in elegy, a sword lay on the floor, the blade rimmed with blood.

* * *

A/N: Gidaru is the main currency on Gaea. I looked it up! Oh, and 1 miet 30 seconds. Hope the action was interesting. 


	7. The Summit

Chapter 7 - The Summit 

The bloodied sword caught the light of the sun as it slid slowly over the roofs of Asturia, casting a bright light onto Celena's face until half of it was in stark shadow. Hitomi wiped blood and dirt from the face of the elderly tailor with a handkerchief of Van's, while Van stood close behind her, and the cat-man Eiru stood in the doorway, alert and watchful, and Rhum and his men stood guard around the building, called back from their breakfast at a local tavern.

Celena leaned over so her elbows were resting on her knees, and smiled. A could passed overhead, blocking out the sun, and the old tailor coughed herself back into life.

* * *

Hitomi shut the door behind her with a soft click. It was now around nine in the morning, and though Allen wasn't back yet from guard duty, and would not be likely to return until after dark, Van and Hitomi had taken the liberty of bringing Celena home. Susan gave them the key to the front door, and before disappearing into the market once again, thanked them profusely for their kindness toward the young mistress. Hitomi was a bit annoyed by Susan's negligence for her mistress, but Celena insisted she didn't care, and that Susan really was very busy. As for Van, after what Celena had done for Hitomi, he was more than willing to make up for Susan's behavior and look past his first impression of Celena, offering her his thanks and a promise to do whatever she asked of him. And what she'd wanted was to go back home. She was tired. 

"It really was nice of that tailor to offer to do her dresses for free," Hitomi said to Van, who was sitting cross-legged and pensive in the plusher sofa of the Schezar sitting room.

"Yeah," he said, and patted the seat next to him. Hitomi sat down.

"I hope Celena will be okay. I think she overwhelmed herself."

"What exactly happened to her?"

Hitomi put her head on Van's shoulder. "Who knows."

* * *

In her room, Celena was cradling her sword in her hands, holding it up so it glinted in the sun. She noticed that there was still a little blood on it, and wondered what she would do with it. She'd wanted to leave it there, on the floor, but Van had insisted that it was rightfully hers now, quoting some old Fanelian code about abandoned weapons and the rules of dueling. Her brother would disapprove, but to her, there was something satisfying in Van's logic. Perhaps someone could make a sheath for it, and she could wear it around her waist like a Knight Caeli. With her skills, maybe she could even become one herself. 

Quite the proper Asturian lady she was turning out to be.

She'd been so scared. That man had something like murder in his eyes, and he was going to take Hitomi away and no one would have been able to stop him. Van figured that the man's orders were to prevent them from appearing before the Alliance, but Celena recognized what he really meant to do no matter what his orders were. She'd seen the same desire in him.

Again and again, the vision of her pressing the sword into the man's throat flashed in front of her eyes. She'd wanted to hurt him so much. But the desire wasn't Dilandau's. It was hers.

She sighed, dropped her sword on the floor, and flopped down on her bed. When Hitomi had told her that she was stronger than Dilandau, she knew that her new friend was right. No matter the nightmares, he couldn't exist without her. She had an edge, like a sword, and she could fight him with it.

But deep inside, deeper than even her hatred and fear of Dilandau, part of her craved what he could do, and wanted him to live...

"Celena?" Hitomi called from behind the door. "It's getting late, and Van and I have to go to the meeting. Will you be okay on your own for a while?"

"Sure," said Celena. "And Hitomi?"

Outside the door, Hitomi paused on her way back to the parlor. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

Hitomi smiled and pressed her hand against the door. "You too."

The sound of her footsteps faded away, and Celena could sense that she was alone in the house, aside from the servants. So she went to the linen closet, pulled out a strip of washcloth, and returned to her room to polish her newly won sword.

* * *

When Hitomi and Van arrived in the crowded entrance hall outside the room reserved for mass-gatherings, Eries ran up to them, her face tight and drawn, followed by her guard apparent, Allen Schezar. From what little she had seen of the princess, Hitomi was somehow not surprised to find them together. 

"Thank Jichia you're safe. The foreign minister told me of what happened this morning," said Eries.

"Hitomi, are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?" Allen spoke up concernedly.

"We're fine thanks to Celena," Hitomi said.

"Celena?" Allen balked. His eyes went wide, and he turned to Eries, who returned look with a puzzled glance of her own.

"But... didn't you hear?" Hitomi said, glancing uncertainly at the two of them. "Celena's the one who protected me. She took the sword from the man while he was occupied with keeping me still and fought him off."

"But my sister was getting fitted for her wardrobe today. You've had quite a traumatizing morning. Are you sure it was her?" Allen said, looking at Hitomi with a slight frown.

"Of course I'm sure! After meeting her once, she's kind of hard to mistake." Hitomi answered with a glare that could rival Van's worst scowls.

"Surely you heard that much?" Van sharply inquired.

Eries was tentative, almost hesitant in her next words. "We... we heard of the attack from an unorthodox source."

"Unorthodox?"

"Ah... the Foreign Minister was... gathering information about our allies before dawn this morning. He came across an order, dispatched last night, to keep the Girl from the Mystic Moon out of today's meeting."

Van's face clouded with anger. "Who issued the order?"

"It wasn't their President," Eries explained, her demeanor once again cool and stern. "It came from one of the four Ministers he brought with him to this summit. So don't think of bringing it up during your testimony. The President will deny all knowledge, because in all likelihood he has no idea the order was even issued. Fanelia will look as if it is trying to provoke Basram, and that would damage your chances of aid, war hero status or not."

Van looked as if he wanted to say something about where Basram could stick its provocation, but his lips remained tightly shut. He nodded, though his expression was deadly with rage.

"But that's not fair," Hitomi protested.

"No, it isn't," agreed Eries. "It's politics."

The sound of a bell reverberated throughout the hall, and the dignitaries of Gaea began to file inside the meeting room. Eries gave Hitomi and Van a graceful bow, and joined the throng, followed by Allen, who looked over his shoulder at Hitomi as he walked away.

* * *

"State your name and nationality," Dryden said from a seat situated on the highest level of the room. Hitomi stood on a raised dais in the middle of a circular room, and all around her at graduated levels she could see the representatives of all the nations of Gaea involved in the Great War. The President of Basram seemed nervous. He was sweating profusely and constantly pushing his papers around. Deadalus' King played with his mustache, and the Queen of Egzardia was gazing at Hitomi intently, her startling golden eyes nearly boring holes through Hitomi's head. She couldn't make out the faces of the other monarchs or representatives. Many of them were seated, or behind her, and Hitomi thought it would be better manners not to look around. 

"Hitomi Kanzaki. I'm from the Mystic Moon."

No one reacted. Her nationality was old news by now. Some, however, began to take notes.

"And you have been involved in the Great War since Fanelia was razed, correct?"

"Yes."

"You witnessed the invasion of Freid?"

"Yes."

"And you visited Zaibach before they began open hostilities across Gaea?"

"...yes."

There was an increase in the scratching of quills.

"On the night the war ended, where were you?"

"I was in my room, at the royal palace of Asturia. My friend Merle was with me. I looked out the window and saw a white light across the sea."

"What did you do when you saw that light?"

Hesitantly at first, and then stronger as she moved further in her story, Hitomi told the nations of Gaea how she arrived in Zaibach with the help of Folken Fanel, exiled Strategos of Zaibach, and how he killed Emperor Dornkirk and was in turn killed himself. She told them that the Atlantis Machine was activated after Dornkirk's death by her pendant, a relic of Atlantis, and how it created the Zone of Absolute Fortune. She told them about what the machine did. She told them about her posthumous conversation with Dornkirk. And she told them how Van Fanel came for her, destroying the Atlantis Machine in the process, after which the fighting suddenly ceased. She was sure to gloss over the more personal aspects of the war's end, hating to imagine what stately Egzardia or conniving Basram would think of her and Van's love for one another.

There was a long pause after she finished, punctuated by the fervent scratching of quills and shuffling of paper. Dryden continued speaking once the writing was less audible.

"After you and Fanelia left Zaibach, where did you go?"

"We flew to the border of Cesario and Zaibach, where we rested until midnight, and then continued on to Pallas, where we were escorted to the palace. We've been here ever since."

"Thank you, Miss Kanzaki," Dryden said. "If any nation has further questions for the witness, let them speak."

A hand went up in Basram's area. Dryden nodded, and announced Basram's intention.

"Surely you don't believe this, Asturia and fellow members of this Alliance?" protested Basram's president, getting to his feet. "Information from the dead? The dead cannot speak, let alone give up state secrets."

"Miss Kanzaki has proven time and again that she possesses insight which has proven invaluable during this war," deadpanned Dryden.

"But am I correct in assuming that she has never demonstrated the ability to talk to the dead before?"

"I-" began Hitomi, but Dryden spoke over her.

"During my travels with her, she demonstrated just such an ability on more than one occasion."

"Ah yes. Your trip to _Atlantis_," the President emphasized the word and made a gesture of disbelief, attracting more than one smirk from the gathered dignitaries. "A country that was destroyed thousands of years ago. A country whose people are so scattered and diluted that none exist who could back up your claim."

"That's not true!" snapped Hitomi. Basram looked down at her, startled by her sudden outburst.

Seated behind Dryden, Eries smiled.

"We went to Atlantis! I traveled there with Van Fanel, Merle, Allen Schezar, Princess Millerna Aston, Dryden Fassa, and the crew of the Crusade! I saw the Draconians! I spoke to Van's- to the King of Fanelia's mother! I spoke to my dead grandmother, and Leon Schezar!"

There were titters in the Asturian section. Allen's mouth went thin, and he stepped forward. "I can corroborate her story. I spoke to my father through her."

"I would be willing to put Asturia's support behind it, judging from what I saw on that journey," said Dryden. "Unless Basram is accusing us of having a group hallucination?"

"Of course we are insinuating no such thing. We were merely pointing out how improbable it is that this girl spoke to the dead Emperor Dornkirk. And what of the Atlantis Machine, which she claims she and Fanelia destroyed? Are we to believe that Zaibach succeeded in its plan to control fate at the last second of the war? Are we to believe that they did this through the us of the mythical Atlantis Machine, without power or magic? There are not enough energists in the world to power such a machine."

There were mutterings throughout the room. The queen of Egzardia looked thoughtful, and someone whispered in Cesario's ear. Then, Dryden nodded to someone behind Hitomi, and a familiar, small voice spoke up.

"If you please, Basram, members of the Alliance. Fried has been out of contact with the rest of Gaea's nations, owing to the devastation wrought on our capital of Godashim and our most ancient temple, Fortuna, and so we have as of yet been unable to communicate to you the motivation behind Zaibach's attack on our Duchy: to find and utilize a power source for the Atlantis Machine."

Hitomi turned around to be greeted by a welcome sight. Though he was still quite young, it appeared that Chid had talked his advisors into accompanying him to this important summit. He was guarded on all sides by the imposing-looking, dark skinned monks of Fortuna Temple. Chid saw Hitomi looking at him, and he smiled at her kindly.

"Deadalus would inquire as the the meaning of Freid's assertion."

"Ever since the foundation of Freid, her people have been charged with guarding the Power Spot, which has been well-known throughout the countries of Gaea since time immemorial. This council has no reason to doubt the truth of my words when I say that Zaibach attacked Freid in order to gain control of the Power Spot. During the negotiations with Strategos Folken after our surrender, we were ordered to unlock the seals placed upon the Power Spot as a sign of friendship. We agreed to this. We had no reason to wish further destruction on Freid, as our capital and our oldest temple had been laid to waste.

"After I broke the seal on the Power Spot, Strategos Folken thanked me for my cooperation towards a better future for Gaea. He assured me that through the use of the Atlantis Machine, Gaea would break free of its Destiny of War. I say this because the Council can plainly see that Freid is not in a position to gain anything by supporting Miss Kanzaki's claims. We say this because we are interested in the truth of what happened during the last days of the war. Many of our people sacrificed their lives during the war. Aside from Fanelia, no country involved in this conflict could have a higher interest in seeing justice served."

Hitomi was shocked and thrilled. She knew that Chid had the potential to be a great leader, but an improvement on this scale in so short a time was stunning. Chid sat down, apparently finished with his speech, and Dryden called for the countries of the alliance to corroborate Freid's claims.

"Deadauls can find no fault in this information," said the King in his reedy voice.

"Aye, nor can Egzardia," said the Queen, whose voice was a dark and golden as her eyes.

"Cesario, as one of the nations on the border of Zaibach, witnessed the green glow that overtook Zaibach on the day of Freid's surrender to overwhelming invasive forces. The rules of chivalry command that her Emperor stand with Freid on this matter."

"Basram... Basram finds the information presented to be correct."

"As does Fanelia," chirped a familiar voice, and Hitomi was surprised to see Merle stand up on behalf of Fanelia, Rhum standing at her side. It finally occurred to Hitomi that of course Van would have sent someone to vote for Fanelia in his stead. Merle was probably the most logical choice, as she would be sure to vote just as Van would. She fought the urge to laugh as Merle stood proudly for her country, tail swishing behind her and patient dignitaries all around.

"And based on the information that Strategos Folken presented before this very council, as well as what we have heard today, Asturia agrees. Do any other nations wish to question the validity of Miss Kanzaki's testimony?"

Silence reigned, and everyone sat motionless..

"Then let it be known that the Alliance stands behind the claims of Hitomi Kanzaki, citizen of the Mystic Moon. Thank you, Miss Kanzaki. You are dismissed."

Once again, the scratching of quills filled the room, and the representatives began talking amongst themselves, some at more urgent speeds than others. Basram, she noticed, was wiping sweat from his face while his advisors argued behind him. Risking a glance behind her, Hitomi looked up at Chid, but he was busy speaking to the members of his delegation to notice her. Hitomi decided that she would speak to him later. He would, after all, be there for at least a week.

A short, fussy man led her to an exit opposite the door through which she entered the chamber. She stepped out into another room, this one long and rectangular, with benches and chair set through it at irregular intervals. A wide window faced the sea. The other witnesses which had spoken before her were milling around and speaking to one another, comparing swords or swapping war-stories. She didn't know any of them.

The door opened once again, and Allen stepped through it. "Hitomi!"

"Allen? What are you doing here?"

"Eries gave me leave to speak with you," he said, and then took her hand and squeezed it in greeting. "Don't worry. I won't get in trouble by being here."

"That's good..." Hitomi looked around at the other witnesses, who were staring at the two of them rather frankly, nudging each other with grins on their faces.

"I came here to tell you that you did a wonderful job out there."

"Oh, really? I don't think I did that well," Hitomi walked over to one of the benches and sat down. Allen remained standing. "They only believed me because of what Dryden and Chid said. Chid was amazing, don't you think?"

Allen looked slightly pained, but nodded. "Yes. He'll be a good leader for Freid."

"I wonder how he was able to come up with all that on the spot..."

Allen lowered his voice and sat down beside her. "I also came to talk to you about my sister."

"Oh!" Hitomi looked around, and noticed that the rest of the witnesses had gone back to chatting among themselves. "She was very brave today. I wouldn't have made it here if it weren't for her."

"When she fought off that mercenary, what was she like? Did she say anything that sounded strange to you?"

Hitomi was uncomfortable. She trusted Allen, but she wasn't sure exactly how much she should reveal to him about Celena's behavior. Celena seemed to have told Hitomi her story in confidence. She'd certainly waited until there was no one around to witness her say anything about her relationship with Dilandau. Even Allen was elsewhere. Still, Hitomi didn't want to lie to him entirely, so she opted for her impressions of Celena's actions rather than a graphic description of her coarse language.

"She threatened him a lot while they were fighting. It was probably to make him nervous, though. It was almost like she was toying with him, to tell you the truth."

"What I was wondering," Allen said, "Is where she learned to fight at all. She did not receive fencing lessons as a child, and it's a tricky matter to steal a sword from a skilled mercenary, even when his hands are otherwise occupied. There's the catch of the sword to consider, among other things. So if she's learned this how I think she has... I don't like to think about what's going to happen to her in the future. I can't lose my sister all over again. Not when I finally have her back the way she was."

"Don't you think that's unfair, Allen?"

"What?"

"I mean, she has to have changed a little," Hitomi said, looking at Allen seriously. "She grew up while she was away."

Allen laughed. "You misunderstand me. I meant to say that she's whole again. The last time I found her, she was wandering around without a thought in her head. I had to stop her from eating bugs or drawing on the wall... but this time she's Celena again."

"Oh! Sorry," Hitomi said, feeling a little silly.

Allen smiled at her embarrassment, but then became very serious again. "A Knight is loath to own up to any fear he may have, but I must confess that I'm afraid she'll wake up one day and be gone again, that _he_ will have taken over, this time forever."

Allen trailed off and stared at something in the distance, his mouth fixed and his eyes distant. As she watched him despair, Hitomi recalled the words that her grandmother spoke to her that day in Atlantis, which had proven so valuable again and again. This time, she promised herself, she'd say something right.

"Believe in her," she said.

"I'm sorry?" Allen returned from his reverie and started at her.

"She's not going to be able to overcome what's inside her on her without your faith in her. She needs your trust, Allen, so she can be strong."

"To be needed..." he said with an absent smile. "It would be nice to be needed. And I'm certainly more than willing."

Hitomi nodded, happy that she'd said something useful, and then recalled something that had been tugging at the edges of her mind her ever since she spoke with Celena that morning. "Allen, this might be a silly question... but do you have, uh, psychiatrists in Asturia?"

"Sy-kia-trys-tos?" Allen tried out the unfamiliar word.

"I guess not," Hitomi said with a sigh. "They're people who've been trained to talk to you if you've been through something really awful, or if something isn't right in your br- your heart. With time, they help you overcome what's wrong inside."

"We have something like that, actually," Allen replied, thoughtful. "There are women who travel over Gaea who worship the Freidian Goddess of compassion, Kritem-Alari. They usually set up headquarters in the capital city of their current locale and send representatives to the homes of people who need to talk about... well, anything, really. Eries was telling me about them this morning when the Freid delegation walked past us."

Hitomi thought that Eries was probably trying to distract Allen from Chid as well as drop a few hints about Celena, but she supposed that Allen had been a little preoccupied at the time. So she decided to go for the direct approach; subtlety really wasn't her thing. "You should see if you can arrange one to talk to Celena twice a week. I think she'd heal faster if she had someone she could talk to about her problems who isn't her overprotective brother."

"I'm not overprotective!" Allen said, affronted. "I'm a gentleman, and as such I must act according to my station."

"Sure, sure, my mistake," Hitomi giggled.

"No one appreciates the efforts of a true gentleman these days," he sighed with a sardonic smile. "But I'll make an effort either way. Thank you for the advice, Hitomi."

"No, it's no problem!" Hitomi said, waving her hands at him.

"Well then." Allen got to his feet, and took Hitomi's hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. "If you'll excuse me, I should return to my duties. Until we meet again."

Allen bowed, and then exited the room. She supposed he was going up to stand behind Eries again, and wondered if he would ever figure out what Eries had inadvertently done for his sister. Probably not, she decided, unless someone told him first.

About twenty miets later, Van walked through the door. He scanned the room for a few seconds before he found Hitomi.

"Van!" she said, waving. "How did it go?"

"I think it went well, actually. I was expecting Basram to protest more, but they didn't dispute anything once I got done with my testimony."

"That's great!"

"Yeah," said Van. "They should be adjourning the meeting now."

"I liked your choice of representation for Fanelia," Hitomi said. "You didn't tell me she'd be casting your votes for you."

"So she didn't sell the whole country?" he teased.

"No! She was perfect."

"I knew she would be, with Rhum there to watch her," Van said, putting his hands on his head. "You coming?"

"Yeah," Hitomi said, and followed him out the door, through the empty meeting room, and into the entrance hall. When they arrived, most of the representatives were already out the door, and Merle was chatting with Chid, a huge smile on her face. Hitomi waved in their direction, and the two of them waved back and continued with their conversation. In the middle of the room, Dryden was discussing something with Eries, while Allen hung back, stoic as any Knight at his mistress' side. Dryden laughed about something, and then bowed slightly to Eries before walking toward the door, pushing through the departing crowd of delegates on his way out.

Van dropped his hands to his side, and turned to Hitomi. "I'll be back in a moment. I want to speak with Dryden about something."

"About what?" she asked, curious.

"I want to go with him to Zaibach. Tonight."

And he began jogging towards Dryden before Hitomi could say another word.

* * *

A/N: From now on, I'm going to update the story one day before I updated it the previous week, since I'm getting so far ahead in my writing. Next week, expect the update on Saturday. Or Friday. I hope you liked it! 


	8. Escape

Chapter 8 - Escape

"Van!" Hitomi called after him. He ignored her. She called again, and catching up with Dryden, he followed the merchant outside and out of sight.

"Where's Van-Sama going?" Merle said, siding up to Hitomi. Chid was exiting the room, followed by his delegation, and the hallway was now empty, save for Merle and Hitomi.

"He said he had to talk to Dryden about something."

"Hmmmmmmm," said Merle. "I wonder what it is?"

"He wants to go to Zaibach," Hitomi whispered, as if there were people lingering out of sight somewhere.

"What the hell would he want to do that for?" Merle shouted. "They hate him there!"

"Shhh!" Hitomi said, causing Merle to look mildly annoyed.

"Shhh yourself! You're the one who brought it up!"

"I did not!"

"Did too!" Merle retorted, and before Hitomi could reply, changed the track of the conversation completely. "Anyway, did you see me up there? Was I wonderful?"

"You were pretty good," Hitomi replied, knowing it was useless to get into an argument with Merle. "I think you did well representing Fanelia. You spoke only when asked to."

"That's right!" Merle said, not noticing Hitomi's sideways jibe. "I would've said something when Basram said you were a liar, but Rhum told me to wait my turn. It all worked out for the best, though!"

"I hope so, Merle. Let's go see what Van's up to."

Merle perked up at the idea, and the two girls walked outside. Dryden was nowhere in sight, and Van was leaning against one of the many huge columns that adorned the Asturian Palace. As they got closer, Hitomi noticed that there was a dark mood about him. His mouth was set in a thin line and his brow was furrowed.

"Van-Sama!" Merle called out in greeting. She didn't pounce on him, but instead ran up and stood next to him with her hands behind her back and her tail waving back and forth. "What's wrong?"

Van didn't reply. When Hitomi caught up to Merle, he continued staring moodily at nothing.

"Did Dryden say no?" Hitomi asked, as gently as she could.

"He said we'd be a floating target if Zaibach knew I was on his ship, and that he had enough trouble being let into their borders as is," Van muttered angrily. "He didn't even give me a chance to tell him why I wanted to come, he just cut me off and walked away."

"Really?" said Hitomi. "How strange. I thought for sure he'd agree..."

"Why do you want to go to Zaibach, anyway?" Merle demanded.

"I want to bring Folken's body back to Fanelia and bury him next to our father," Van deadpanned.

"That's wonderful!" chirped Merle. "But... Van-Sama... how were you going to bring him back there? You have to be in Asturia until the summit is over."

Van made a sound of exasperation. "I'll figure things out when I get his body here!"

"Don't you mean 'if?'" Hitomi asked.

"No. I'm going to be on that ship tonight, whether Dryden knows it or not."

"Well then, I'm coming too," said Hitomi, firmly.

Van looked at her in surprise.

"I said I'd stay with you from now on, didn't I?"

She expected him to argue, but instead, he smiled. "Hitomi... thanks."

"What about you, Merle?" Hitomi asked, turning eagerly to the catgirl.

But Merle had backed away from them, and was frowning slightly. "I... I don't think it's a good idea..."

Hitomi was absolutely dumbfounded. If Van's lack of argument had been a little strange, Merle's lack of enthusiasm was downright weird. "Merle? What-"

"You... you shouldn't go! It's dangerous! What if they catch you and you get killed?"

Van took a step toward her, but she stepped back again, still frowning. "Merle, the war is over, I'm sure if-"

"No! You're not sure of anything!" she yelled. Hitomi and Van stared at her, stunned. Merle seemed to be fighting back tears. Suddenly she turned and ran away, disappearing from sight as she rounded the ornate fountain in the middle of the square. A flock of birds that had been drinking and bathing in the fountain took off, startled, scattering feathers in Merle's wake.

"What's with her?" Hitomi wondered. "She was all happy about you going at first but then she completely changed her mind!"

Van shook his head. "I'm not sure. She tells me sometimes that she knows what I'm thinking even before I can. I can tell what she's thinking, too, from time to time, but often she's a mystery to me."

"That's how cats are, I guess," Hitomi sighed. "Should we go after her?"

"No. When she's ready, she'll come and find us."

"I hope she does it before we leave," said Hitomi, as the birds resettled on their fountain and began cavorting in the afternoon sun.

* * *

Merle slammed the door behind her and stopped running. She didn't know how far she'd gone, only that she was indoors somewhere, and horribly out of breath. Panting, she leaned against a wall and slid down it until she was sitting with her knees tucked under her chin. 

"Stupid Hitomi. Stupid Van-Sama," she muttered. The tears that she had been holding back spilled over just a little, falling onto dress and darkening the fabric until it was a muddy brown. Merle wiped her eyes fretfully and sniffed, hiccuping. She'd never yelled at Van like that. Didn't he know that he could die if he left? What point was there to throwing your life away after the war was finally over?

_That's not why you're mad,_ an annoying voice in her head told her, casting sand over the path of her righteous anger. _You know Van can take care of himself, especially when Hitomi's with him. You're lying again._

"Why don't they understand?" she sobbed, miserably. Her face was hot with embarrassment, from yelling like that and from lying to herself. She wiped her face up on her dress.

There was a fumbling at the door and Merle went completely silent. The last thing she wanted to do was to be caught by some humans with tears running down her face. So Merle quickly looked around the room, spotted a table with a cloth thrown over it and touching the floor, and dove underneath. After a male voice cursed a little about the efficiency of foreign-bought doorknobs, the door was pushed open.

"So!" Merle heard the door shut. "What do you think, oh political advisor?"

It was Dryden for sure. No one else would use such superfluous speech.

"I think it went as I thought it might," replied a cool female voice. Eries. The two settled down around Merle's hiding spot, effectively pinning her in place. She gulped, and prepared herself for a long stay.

"What? Basram trying to discredit everyone and five year old Chid suddenly orating like a man six times his age? Even you, Princess, with all your insight, aren't gifted with clairvoyance."

"I admit Duke Chid surprised me, but Basram acted exactly as greedy and paranoid as expected."

"Ah! To fight for the riches of the world we would so carelessly destroy! Such is the way of madmen, tyrants, and kings."

"Are you quoting again?"

"Nothing slips by you, Princess Eries."

Eries let out a slow chuckle. "Really, Dryden, you flatter me. I'm not so keen as all that. I simply pay attention to my surroundings."

Merle grew exponentially more nervous.

"I never pay a compliment I don't mean," Dryden said, quite seriously. "And I mean to compliment you on arranging for Hitomi to testify as well as Fanelia; her testimony was everything we could have hoped for. It certainly threw off all chances of Basram claiming all the credit for a swift Alliance victory. The dragon wasn't too protective of his lady, was he?"

"He was, but Hitomi isn't someone to take lightly," Eries replied, a smile present in her voice.

Dryden laughed, heartily and loudly. "That's right! She's told me off more than once for calling out that stuck-up excuse for a knight, Allen."

Merle had to fight the urge to let out an appreciative guffaw.

Eries made a soft sound of protest. "Allen is an honorable man," she pointed out. "Despite the flaws in his character. Or perhaps, because of those flaws, he is more honorable than some."

Dryden hit the table, sending rattling noises through Merle's skull. "And another woman jumps to his defense! I wish I had that kind of touch."

There was a short pause before Eries changed the subject. She coughed, and said, "How are your travel preparations going?"

"Well, my father hasn't found out about them, so I say that's progress," Dryden sighed. "I'm set to be absent for six days; two in nonstop transit and four in sales. Did you know Fanelia asked me for transport to Zaibach after the meeting today?"

"I can't say I'm surprised. He has unfinished business there."

"I doubt he'd be happy if every last citizen of Zaibach were slaughtered and the country were burned to the ground," Dryden joked. "I refused, of course. Asking me out in the open like that in front of all the delegates was damn stupid. Now isn't the best time for collusion between countries, even if I am going there as an independent entrepreneur."

"You should have agreed," Eries chided. "You don't know what his business is in Zaibach. Did you even stop for a moment to consider what it was?"

But before Dryden could answer, there was knock at the door.

"Enter!" called Eries, and the sound of heavy boots clicking across the stone filled the room.

"Princess. Dryden."

It was the voice of Allen.

"Ah, Allen!" Dryden exclaimed. "How are the preparations on my flagship coming?"

"The reports from the hangar indicate all is well," Allen replied, "But perhaps you should consider supervising them personally instead of using me as a private courier."

"But as you can see, I'm busy speaking with my Political Advisor. And I prefer your expertise over all the other couriers in the palace," said Dryden.

"It is true that I have many talents," Allen replied with a sardonic tone to his voice. "I have a second message for you. Your father wishes to speak with you. Immediately."

Dryden groaned. "It seems I'm being called to the chopping block." There was a short commotion of noise as he got to his feet. "Will you wish me good fortune, Princess?"

With amusement in her voice, Eries said, "As much as can be hoped."

"I suppose I'll have to take that. If I don't see you again tonight, I'll see you in six days. Tell Millerna that I... no, nevermind."

There was another noise of feet walking across the room, and the door opening and shutting. Dryden was gone. Merle felt slightly relieved that the table she was hiding under now only had one pair of feet protruding under it. And much smaller feet at that. She almost sighed, but checked herself when she realized that Allen hadn't yet left.

"I spoke with Hitomi earlier about Celena," Allen said. "She had some good advice."

"I'm glad to hear it," Eries replied.

"She said one thing that was particularly helpful, about the Alarites."

"The Kritem-Alari followers from Freid?"

"Yes. I'm going to talk to Celena about it when I get home, but I believe starting the day after tomorrow, she will begin speaking to an Alarite twice a week at our home. I've already contacted the local convent, and the sisters seem more than willing to help."

"That seems to be in your sister's best interest." Eries shifted her legs and almost kicked Merle in the face as she crossed them. "I'm pleased to hear it. I hope she agrees."

"There's one more thing," Allen said. Merle heard him step closer to Eries. She looked down and saw his feet just below the hem of the tablecloth. They stood at the very edge of Eries' chair.

"Allen?"

His voice dropped an octave. "Thank you for the idea. I'm even further in your debt than I ever have been. I won't forget what you've done for me and my sister."

Merle watched as Allen transfered his balance to the tips of his toes, apparently leaning towards Eries. Whether he kissed her face or simply took her hand in his, Merle couldn't tell, but Eries tensed slightly as Allen leaned away.

"If you will excuse me, Princess," Allen said, stepping away and bowing. He then turned on his heels and left the room, leaving Eries and Merle alone in silence.

Eries made a noise deep in her chest which Merle immediately recognized. She'd made it herself more times than she cared to remember.

"You can come out now," Eries said. "I'd really rather you hadn't have witnessed that, but it can't be helped now."

Merle started guiltily. _Maybe if I don't respond she'll change her mind and realize I'm not here_, she thought in desperation, pretending to be an interesting statue. But Eries bent over and lifted the tablecloth.

"Hello," she said.

"Crap," said Merle.

* * *

Hitomi and Van were preparing to leave. Van was putting on his gloves and strapping his sword around his waist, and Hitomi was carefully stowing some extra food that she'd procured from the palace kitchens in her gym-bag. They'd heard from Allen that Dryden's ship was to leave just after nightfall, and that they had better get on board just after Dryden's final inspection if they wanted to board his ship undetected. It was a narrow window, but with Allen's help (and Allen was strangely pleased to help them with this) they were confident that they'd make it. 

"If Merle's going to catch us she's going to have to do it soon," Hitomi said as she packed the last of their rations. "I hope I packed enough food."

"She knows when we're leaving," Van replied, securing his royal sword in place with one final tug.

"Does she really? I didn't know when we were leaving until Allen told us."

"She knows," Van said, confidently. He looked out the window. The sun was beginning its evening cycle, splashing orange and pink across the horizon and under the bellies of clouds. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Hitomi said with a grin. Van returned her smile and gripped her hand.

"Then let's go."

They made their way towards the hangars, being sure to skulk in the long shadows created by the setting sun, dashing from column to column. Hitomi felt a little silly sneaking around like that, but she was also excited and nervous, and that helped quell any feelings that they were acting like the main characters in a spy movie. They remained unspotted until they reached the first floor of the palace, when Hitomi tripped over a loose stone and a very drunk courtier stopped to ask if she required is assistance. When she told him, quite firmly, that she was fine, he attempted to slip his hand around her waist and suffered a face full of Hitomi's left palm, as well as a swift kick to the leg and a boot to the ass courtesy of Van. The drunkard fell to the floor, gurgling, and the pair of runaways pressed on.

When they reached the main entrance to the royal hangars, there seemed to be a small hubbub going on. They pressed themselves against the wall and peeked around the corner to get a better look.

"What do you think's going on?" Hitomi whispered.

"Who knows. I think I can hear Dryden shouting at someone, but I don't know who he's arguing with."

"That would be his father, Meiden Fassa," Allen said. Hitomi nearly dropped her bag in surprise.

"Don't do that!" she said, clutching her heart.

"Where did you come from?" Van inquired.

Allen jerked his head to the right with a roughish grin on his face. "There's a side entrance for servants and mechanics over there. You passed it, actually. I've been waiting behind the door for you for the past fifteen miets."

Hitomi and Van examined the blank space of wall Allen indicated, but neither could spot anything remotely resembling a door.

"Don't blame us," Van protested. "It looks just like every other moldy stone wall in this place."

Allen gave them another of his most charming grins, and said, "Then if you'll follow me through this moldy wall, I think you'll find that we won't be interrupted. Try not to make as much noise as you were making before."

The look on Van's face suggested that he wouldn't mind kicking over a suit of armor at this point, but at a stern look from Hitomi, he gave a thin-lipped nod and followed Allen through the concealed door.

Inside the hangar was a bustle of activity. Shiphands were loading box after box onto Dryden's flagship, his only remaining vessel after trading his fleet for Escaflowne's repair bill, and it looked as if they were very close to being done. Allen silently indicated the direction they were to go, and the three of them slipped behind the top half of a discarded guymelef.

"In a few moments the dock-workers will finish loading Dryden's merchandise," Allen whispered. "Then Dryden will give the cargo hold a short inspection, the workers will clear away for take-off, and the hatch will begin to close. That's your only window to stow away. I have a few connections on the ship. They'll take care of you once you're on board, but they won't be able to contact you until very late tonight."

Van nodded, and Hitomi felt slightly queasy. "You want us to slip in just before they close the doors?"

"I know it's frightening, but it's the only way," Allen explained in his most reassuring voice. "I'd prefer to sneak you in as part of the cargo, Hitomi, but as long as there are workers about, it's going to be difficult to remain unseen."

The sound of shouting increased in the background, and Hitomi thought she could hear Dryden calling his father a bearded, backwards-thinking relic.

"Well," Allen said,. "I suppose I had better perform my duty as a Knight and attempt to keep the peace. Good luck."

"And to you, Allen," Van said, shaking his friend's hand firmly.

"Take care of Hitomi," he replied.

"I will."

Allen nodded. And with a final bow, he slipped away.

Hitomi sighed and crouched down on the floor. "I guess now all we have to do is wait."

"Seems so," said Van. He was fine, of course. Hitomi supposed he was used to long waits just before battle, or, perhaps, in between royal meetings, but she'd always been a little impatient. She wished she'd thought to pack a book in her gym back last time she was whisked back to Earth.

"I wonder what Merle's doing," she said, absently. Van shrugged, and continued to keep a close eye on the activity around Dryden's flagship. There were only three remaining boxes now. Then, in a final burst of efficiency, they were loaded into the cargo hold.

"Can't be long now," Van said under his breath.

There was a sneeze behind them. They turned around, and there, sitting atop the guymelef they were hiding behind, was Merle.

"Merle!" whispered Hitomi as the catgirl climbed down to their level. "We were afraid you wouldn't make it!"

Van squeezed her shoulder and said, "We've only got a little while longer before we have to-"

"I'm not coming," said Merle, flatly, pulling away from Van. Her tail waved back and forth behind her.

"You're not?" said Hitomi. "Why?"

"Because... because... I'm not ready yet."

"Not ready? You had all day to prepare!" hissed Van. Dryden, mumbling about nosy, interfering knights, was conducting a very violent inspection of his cargo behind them. Van was getting restless.

"It's not that. I'm not ready for you. For the two of you together, I mean."

"Merle..." Van said.

"Don't worry about me! I'll keep busy. I was thinking I'd help Rhum and his friend Eiru at the bazaar. I... I love you very much. Even you, Hitomi," Merle said, scowling and smiling at the same time. "I'm just not ready to be with you yet. I thought I was, but I'm not. That's why I yelled at you. So I came to say goodbye for a while."

"Merle... I'm-" started Hitomi.

"Don't say your sorry!" she interjected, shaking her head and looking from Van to Hitomi. "'Cause I'm not sorry. So you shouldn't be."

Looking at Merle shaking her head and insisting that she was okay hurt Hitomi more than if she'd said she hated her and never wanted to talk to her again. She wished she could do something for Merle. Make the hurt go away somehow. And so, without preamble or pretension, Hitomi darted forward and hugged her. They gripped each other very hard.

Glancing away for a moment, Van saw Dryden walk out of his cargo hold, say something he couldn't make out to the final dock worker, and begin walking to the prow of the ship.

"We have to go now," Van insisted.

Merle disengaged herself and looked up at Hitomi. "You'd better bring back Van-Sama safe! If you don't, I'll use your legs for a scratching post! Don't think I won't!"

"I will," Hitomi promised.

"Now!" hissed Van. The hatch was beginning to close. Hitomi nodded, made sure her gym bag was secure, and dashed for the closing doors, leaping over a few boxes on the way inside. Van gave Merle a swift hug and darted in behind Hitomi, barely avoiding getting his feet trapped in the doors as they closed with a slight hiss.

_"Unrequited love isn't the end of the world," Eries said to Merle as the catgirl looked at her mistrustfully. "It can make you stronger if you care to use it as such. But you can't hold onto it forever. You have to move on. And believe me, it may be difficult, you really can move on. Especially when you're so young." _

_"Whatever! I'm not that young!" Merle protested. _

_"You're young enough that it won't hurt for as long as you think it might," Eries said with a sad smile._

_"Well it still sucks," Merle growled. _

_"Not forever," Eries promised. "It will hurt very badly for a long time. But whatever your heart tells you now, however long it takes, one day it will begin to hurt less, until there's nothing left of it but a quiet memory."_

_"Memories can hurt, too."_

_Eries smiled again, and looked out the window. The sun shone through the glass, turning Eries' hair to soft golden light. _

_"Not as much as love."_

"There are all kinds of love, though," Merle said to herself as Dryden's ship took off. When it rose above the rooftops and the hangar doors closed, she came out of her hiding place and waved at it with all her might until it disappeared into the evening sky.

* * *

Woo! I like it when stuff happens! Now we're on our way to Zaibach, for better or for worse. Please, leave a review on your way out. Thanks for reading. ♥♥♥♥♥ 


	9. The Great Unknown

Chapter 9 - The Great Unknown

Hitomi shut the door of the ship's bathroom and sighed. It was convenient, of course, that there was a bathroom just outside the cargo hold, but it would be even more convenient if any of the boxes held spare beds, or at least a futon. She made her way back to the cargo hold, leaning to crack the vertebrae in her back as she walked. Idly, she wondered whether they should find Dryden soon just to get beds for the night.

_Or_ a _bed_, an increasingly vocal part of her brain whispered.

"Why are you blushing?" Van asked as Hitomi sat down next to him on a large crate.

"No reason!" she said, a little too loudly. "It's getting late, isn't it?"

Van gave her a funny look, but nodded. "We should find Dryden tomorrow. By then we'll be far enough away from Asturia that he won't risk losing time for his sales in Zaibach by turning around."

"I wish we could find him tonight," Hitomi sighed. "I'm not looking forward to sleeping on the floor."

"Nothing we can do," Van said with a shrug.

"I know. It just helps to complain a little."

It was completely dark outside, and the Mystic moon was placidly traveling across the starry sky. Gazing at the stars stirred a fit of longing in Hitomi's chest. She moved her hand over Van's and was rewarded with feeling it twitch slightly in surprise. Like that, they watched the ground move by for a little while.

"What do you think it's going to be like when we get there?" Hitomi asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know. Crowded. Dark. Dangerous. When I was giving my testimony at the summit, Cesario informed us that Zaibach has been devastated. And not without relish. They said many of its remaining farmlands were completely wiped out by the explosion, and the strip-mining the government did during the course of the war has left the country barren. They're not going to be able to feed their own people soon."

"That's awful. Those poor people. Isn't there anything they can do?" She shifted in her seat.

"I suppose they could make alliances with some of the countries that weren't involved in the war, but they've earned a reputation for turning on their allies. So there isn't much hope for that. They can apologize for their actions and request aid, but with the Emperor dead, who's going to apologize? I think it all depends on who takes over next," Van said this matter-of-factly, with little of the bitterness he had so often shown toward Zaibach in the past.

"I wonder who's going to take over next..."

"I don't know about any successor yet. Maybe one of the Four Generals. No one ever really knew who was going to inherit the crown." He smiled wryly. "Dornkirk was supposed to be immortal. Zaibach might even be facing an uprising if nothing is done soon."

"I'm sure that won't happen," Hitomi firmly said. Van raised an eyebrow. "The people are tired of war. They want to make peace," she finished.

"I hope you're right."

"You don't want revenge?" Hitomi asked, cocking her head to the side and looking Van in the eye.

Van leaned back on his palms and looked at the ceiling. "Their country has been devastated, far worse than mine ever was. I don't know. A part of me still wants to find everyone responsible and kill them, but after the energist bomb, and after what they did to themselves... there's nothing left for these people."

"It's what war always does."

There was a rattling sound beside them, and then the creak of a door opening very close by. Hitomi and Van jumped guiltily and turned around to see who had discovered them.

Naturally, it was Dryden. He stood in the doorway, smiling at them beatifically.

"Dryden!" Hitomi exclaimed.

"It's refreshing to hear you're not as bloodthirsty as you used to be, Fanelia. I've been listening to your conversation for a while. However, I think you'll forgive me, seeing as you've stowed away on my ship when I specifically refused you earlier."

Hitomi smiled in what she hoped was a convincingly sheepish way, while Van stared Dryden down, as if daring him to do something about it.

Dryden sighed and looked away. "Come with me."

* * *

Two steaming cups of something Dryden called his "secret recipe of spices" were set down in front of Hitomi and Van, who were sitting in front of a cluttered desk in his library. Some of the books that had been piled up on the desk had to be cleared away, but even after making room, the area was still choked with books, ledgers, and loose papers. 

"Sorry about the mess. I keep meaning to clear out another room for extra storage, but I never get around to it," Dryden said as he down across from them and took a sip from his own cup. Van glared at Dryden defensively and Hitomi sat with her hands in her lap, feeling extremely guilty.

Dryden folded his hands and looked at them without mirth. "When my paranoid accountant told me that he heard voices in the cargo hold, I told him it was probably a couple of the men fooling around again. I don't like being wrong. It makes my accountant smug."

"We're sorry!" Hitomi blurted out. "But we had to!"

"Whatever you had to do, your boyfriend could have picked a better time to ask me about it," Dryden pointed out.

Hitomi blushed scarlet at Dryden's use of 'boyfriend.' A faint blush appeared across Van's cheeks as well, but he remained otherwise stoic as he glared Dryden in the eye.

"I asked you in front of the other delegates so that they could see that we had nothing to hide," Van shot back.

"And what would they have thought if I'd agreed to take the greatest proponent of direct attacks on Zaibach during the war to the country he's so famous for hating?" Dryden pointed out, calmly. "You're not exactly known for being a peaceful, diplomatic person."

"I was prepared for that! If you'd just-"

"You have to consider it from my angle," Dryden interrupted. "As the acting head of the neutral nation hosting the Alliance, if I'd agreed to your request it would have looked very suspicious, especially after my defense of Hitomi."

Van made an angry noise in his throat. "And we're very grateful for that. But if you'd have let me tell you why I wanted to go, no one could have seen any reason to be suspicious!"

Dryden opened his mouth, then closed it. Surprising everyone, he scratched his chin and said, "You know, you may be right. I never did ask you why you wanted to go to Zaibach, did I?"

"No. You just assumed that I wanted to go there to burn the place down," Van replied, his voice hard.

"That's unfair, Dryden," Hitomi angrily cut in. "You should trust your friends."

Dryden raised an eyebrow. "That's good advice, but sadly it doesn't apply in politics. And I'm no politician. I'll take an honest merchant who cheats you to your face any day over conniving rulers who plot at you behind closed doors."

"You should at least trust Van to be honest," Hitomi insisted. "You know he wouldn't try to take advantage of you."

"Okay, okay! I know when I've made a mistake!" Dryden declared, holding his hands above his head in a gesture of surrender. "After the scolding I got from Eries I thought I was done for the day. You could at least have stowed away on other ship going to Zaibach."

"Hmph!" Hitomi said. She snatched her drink from the table and took a huge swallow. It tasted of honey, milk, and cloves, and was surprisingly tasty. "This is good!"

"You sound so surprised," Dryden said with a dramatic sigh. "No woman ever expects me to know how to cook."

"There were no other ships going to Zaibach," Van said, frowning. "Allen told us."

"He did, did he? And I'm sure his information wasn't biased in any way," Dryden said, rolling his eyes.

"Allen wouldn't lie to us," Hitomi said.

"I'm not so sure about that when it comes to me," Dryden said with a wry smile. "Oh well. We seem to be stuck with each other, then."

"You're not going to turn around?" Hitomi asked.

"Why would I do that? I'd lose hours of trading if I did turned around, and I doubt Zaibach would like it if I were late. So!" he declared, slamming his empty mug down and causing a few books to fall off the desk. "I may as well ask you why you were so desperate to get to Zaibach that you snuck aboard the ship of someone who'd refused to take you there in the first place."

Van leaned forward and placed both his hands on the desk, palms down. He took a few breaths to calm himself, and then looked at Dryden in the eye. "I want to claim my brother's body and bury him next to our father, in the soil of his homeland."

Dryden stared at Van for a few seconds. Then, all of a sudden, he began to laugh, mirthfully and loudly. Hitomi was a confused, and Van was absolutely affronted.

"It isn't funny!" he protested, frowning.

"No! It isn't!" Dryden agreed, gasping between laughs. "Forgive me! It's just... so typical. I should have seen it coming. Blame politics for corrupting my view of the honorable nature of the true warrior. Ha ha!"

"What?" Van said. He looked at Hitomi, and she shrugged. She was thankful that Dryden's laughter was confusing Van instead of further angering him, but the situation was still very strange.

"You're a credit to your house, Van Fanel," Dryden said, finally managing to shake off his persistent laughter. "Even if you are far too serious. I'll do what I can to help."

Dryden stuck out his hand, and Van shook it. Grinning, Dryden reclined in his chair and regarded his two stowaways, one narrow-eyed and guarded, one open and relieved.

"You know, you're far better at politics than I gave you credit." Dryden said to them.

Van did not know whether he should take that as a compliment.

* * *

They talked for a little while longer about Dryden's planned route to Zaibach, what they would do when they arrived, and their ideas on where to store Folken's body. Dryden flatly refused to store it in the meat locker with their food, and suggested instead sealing his body in a tightly sealed box, which could possibly be used later as a makeshift coffin. Van wasn't fond of the idea, but agreed that it was the best they could do. When Hitomi yawned hugely, Dryden pointed out that there were plenty of empty cabins left, and whether they picked one room or two was entirely their business. Van stiffly insisted that he would never do such a thing and the little part in Hitomi's brain that found the idea extremely romantic was thoroughly disappointed. 

"To each his own, I suppose," Dryden quoted as his parting remark.

In the darkness of her quarters, Hitomi sighed. It was just like old times, really; the soft pitching of the ship in the wind, the whir of the levistones as they were cooled and heated, the proximity of her bed to the door. She'd chosen a room across the hall from Van this time, instead of across from Merle and next to Millerna in a section of the ship informally designated as the women's quarters. For this reason, her proximity to Van exited her, and she found that she was having trouble falling asleep.

After about an hour, she gave up trying and sat up, threw off the covers and got out of bed. There weren't any lights in her room, so she put a blanket around her shoulders and left, thinking that a few walks up and down the hallway might do her some good.

The faint glow of energist lights lit the otherwise gloomy hallways of the airship, casting an eerie glow on Hitomi's skin as she walked around the ship. Everyone was asleep; it was almost as if she were the only person in the world, lost inside the ghostly ruins of a past civilization. She smiled at the idea. It reminded her of Atlantis, or what remained of it at any rate. Atlantis, which had created Gaea in their mourning for their own world, which had given birth to the winged Draconians, which had created the pendant that led her to another place and wrought so many changes, and which had given her Van.

She was just outside his door now. She brushed her fingers against it absently, letting her thoughts wander. Was he sleeping with the rest of the ship? Or was he restless, like her? Her heart began to beat faster at the idea of the two of them, awake and thinking about one another, separated only by a thin wooden door. Hitomi put her cheek against the door and closed her eyes.

And the door softly pushed open.

By now her heart was hammering in her chest. She hadn't realized that Van had left the door unlatched. She'd only opened it a little bit, though. Maybe he hadn't noticed. She froze in place, and began listening intently. There was no movement from his room, as far as she could tell. There was only the soft, steady sound of him breathing.

_And if he hasn't noticed by now, he probably won't notice if I open the door just a little more,_ she reasoned. Swallowing, she pushed the door open just enough to step inside.

He was sleeping on his side, facing away from the door. The blankets had bunched up around his waist, so his head and torso were just visible in the gloomy half-light cast by the hallway, and the bottom of his legs were showing. All the tension was gone from his body; he was completely languid. Hitomi ached to see him sleeping like that. She wished he would let himself relax that much when he was awake.

_He looks cold,_ the voice in her head eagerly noticed. _You should fix his blankets._

Slowly, trying not to wake him, she moved forward and reached an arm out from under her makeshift cape. She brushed the back of his leg accidentally as she pulled his blanket down around his feet, which caused him to shift a little. Terrified that she'd woken him up, Hitomi stood stock still for a short while, not knowing that her breathing grew more audible as she waited to see whether he'd woken up. When it looked like he wasn't going to move again, she cautiously pulled his blanket up around his shoulders.

Van's hand shot out from under the covers and he grabbed her wrist. Hitomi thought her heart was going to explode. She squeaked, jumped, and dropped the blanket she was clutching around her shoulders to the floor in surprise.

_What the hell was I thinking?_ she cursed in her mind.

"Hitomi," Van muttered sleepily, turning over to squint at her in the darkness. "What are you doing here?"

"H- h- how did you know it was me?" she stammered.

He shook his head and let go of her wrist. "Your breathing gave you away. You should be asleep by now."

"But I couldn't sleep. I took a walk to try to tire myself out."

"And you ended up in my room."

"Uh..." she started. "Well... your door wasn't latched... I didn't mean to open it... and then you looked cold so I tucked you in... I'm sorry I woke you up."

"It's fine," Van said, yawning. "If I hadn't known it was you, though, I might have hurt you. You should be more careful."

"Sorry," muttered Hitomi.

Van sat up and looked at her. She was suddenly very aware that she was wearing nothing but a tight t-shirt and her running shorts, which she liked to use as bedclothes since they were small enough not to be noticed as she rolled around in her sleep. Van himself wasn't wearing a shirt, and Hitomi couldn't tell whether he was wearing anything at all under his blanket. She felt the blood rush to her face as he sat there, apparently calm and sleepy. There was a long silence.

"You'd... better go back to your room," Van said, carefully.

"Can I stay with you?" Hitomi suddenly blurted out. If Van was startled by her suggestion, she was even more shocked that it had come out of her mouth. She hadn't been planning on asking, even though the thought had crossed her mind. "Not to fool around or anything! Not that I don't want to, I mean, hahaha! It's just that I can't sleep and it's really, um, cold in my room and I thought that maybe if you were next to me I could sleep better."

_Oh God that sounded so lame,_ she thought. _He thinks I'm crazy._

"Close the door," Van said. Hitomi blinked, and then did so, nervously, enclosing them in total darkness. "Come here."

"What?"

"Come sit next to me. Please."

Luckily, the room was very small, and she bumped softly against his bed before she tripped over it in the dark. She turned around and sat down on top of the covers. She was very aware of the proximity of their bodies, somehow heightened by the fact that they couldn't see each other.

Van cleared his throat. "I didn't want anyone to hear us talking," he explained. "I don't think you should stay here. It's not that I don't... want you. I want you very much. It's just not... proper for people of our age to sleep together. I don't want to risk your reputation..." he trailed off.

"That's really sweet of you, Van. But my reputation here doesn't matter," Hitomi argued. "Not on this airship. There's no one around but Dryden and his crew, and he said he didn't care. There's no one else in this section of the ship who would find out."

A soft sound escaped Van's throat, and he took Hitomi's hand. "I don't want to take advantage of you."

Hitomi smiled. She never thought she'd find herself arguing with someone for the right to share his bed. "You're not taking advantage of me. I haven't been drinking and I know what I'm doing. Besides, it's not as if we haven't slept together before," she reminded him.

"That was different, and you know it."

"Maybe," she admitted. For one thing, they'd had all their clothes on in the mountains, and it was very cold. It had been a matter of necessity then. But now, it was a matter of longing. And longing, it seemed, was proving hard to resist. "I just want to be close to you, that's all. Besides, if you try anything too perverted, I'll slap you."

Van laughed softly, his defenses crumbling. "I think you would."

"So," she said, tentatively. "Can I stay? Please?"

He sighed, so deeply that he reminded her of the bellows as it stoked the fire at a blacksmith's shop. "You can stay."

"Van!" she gasped, and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He responded in kind, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her to him, breathing heavily as they fell onto the bed. She quickly moved to bury herself under the covers with him, and found to her simultaneous relief and disappointment that he was wearing shorts much like her own, except his were made of cloth instead of vinyl and tied at the waist. His smell was everywhere. It was nearly intoxicating. She breathed in deeply as she buried her face in his neck, while they repositioned themselves to fit more closely together.

"Thank you," she whispered. Van responded with a kiss. He took her hand and pressed it to his chest as he broke away, a warm, intimate gesture that left Hitomi wanting more. She held him as close as she could and pursued her kisses more aggressively, starting with his jawline, then neck, and then shoulders, punctuating each kiss with a small nip. He moaned softly, and she delighted in the idea that she could cause him to make such noises. Finally, she finished her attack with a deep kiss, into which she tried to pour all the complicated feelings he created within her, and all the happiness she felt when he threw his arms around her and carried her away from the crumbling ruins of the Atlantis Machine.

"I love you," she said, pulling away.

He put his hand on her face and smiled. It was a genuine one, unmarked by restraint of any kind, and it almost broke her heart to see it. "I love you, Hitomi."

They did not speak again that night. They found they didn't need to.

* * *

The ship shook, and Hitomi was jolted out of sleep. She had been dreaming about a man in grey clothing. He was trying to tell her something important, something about a mask he was trying to give to her, but she couldn't understand what language he was speaking. He kept putting it on and taking it off again, then trying to give it to her while pointing down. They were floating, though, and Hitomi was afraid that if she stopped moving her arms they would fall. 

The grey light of dawn was coming in through the window. The details of her dream were already fading. She wondered what time it was. Van was awake, as well, one hand draped over her waist while he propped himself up by an elbow.

"What was-" she began.

The ship shook again, and there was a loud noise, almost as if it had run into something. It reminded Hitomi of the sound the levistones made when they hit their airship as it struggled through the deadly winds surrounding Asgsard.

"Stay here," Van said. He got out of bed and pulled his pants on, quickly, and then ran out of the room without taking the time to put on a shirt.

Naturally, Hitomi got up, wrapped her discarded blanket from the night before around herself, and followed him. They both ended up in the cockpit. Dryden standing grimly by as his apparent second-in command barked orders at the crew.

"Someone send a signal down there and find out what the hell they're doing!"

"Gaddes?" Hitomi said, gaping.

The man in question turned to her, winked, and said, "Yo!"

_So that's what Allen meant by 'connections,'_ Hitomi thought.

"What's going on?" Van asked.

Dryden turned to him, his face white with anger. It was a sign that he was genuinely upset that he chose not to comment on Van's lack of a shirt and Hitomi's state of relative undress. "We're being attacked."

"What?" Hitomi breathed.

The ship shook again, and a flying guymelef loomed in front of them, blocking out the sun.

"Is that... Zaibach?" Van said, incredulous. Everyone immediately turned and beheld an Alseides in full flight.

"That's impossible!" Dryden exclaimed. "I got clearance from their new Regent!"

"It's definitely a Zaibach guymelef," Gaddes pointed out.

Hitomi was getting a strange feeling in the back of her mind as the guymelef floated there, keeping the airship from advancing. There was some activity on the ground below, like ants scurrying back and forth between mounds. Another guymelef was advancing towards them, crima claws extended but not firing.

"YOU ARE ORDERED TO STAND DOWN IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR. SURRENDER YOUR VESSEL IMMEDIATELY."

Gaddes swore very loudly, and scrambled for the device which would project one's voice outside the ship. He handed it to Dryden, who took it, a grim expression on his face.

"This is a peaceful merchant vessel; we were not involved in the conflict. We will not stand down and be taken prisoner. Why are you ordering us to do so?"

"SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY OR BE BOARDED."

"I say again, no. We were assured amnesty, Zaibach. Why are you attacking?"

The ship shuddered with the blow of a crima claw and one of the levistones began to come loose from its moorings. The ship shuddered in response and began tilting in the opposite direction, gradually losing half of its levitation power. Then, the two guymelefs landed on top of Dryden's ship and began forcing it to the ground.

"What the hell are they doing!?" Van yelled.

The tingling in the back of Hitomi's mind increased. There was something wrong with this situation. She didn't know what it was, but there was something terribly wrong.

* * *

A/N: Attackers? When they were assured safe passage? Hitomi's right on the money. Something is up. Reviews more than welcome as always. :) 


	10. Land of Confusion

Chapter 10 - Land of Confusion

On board the _Brescia_, one of the few remaining flying fortresses in Zaibach, a red light flashed. A middle-aged crew member ran over to it and flicked a switch, which tuned the ship in to a message heavily garbled by static. He cocked his head and listened, but could make out very little under the shroud of static.

"Reinforcements... Egzardian border... need..."

"Sir!" he called out to the captain of the ship. "The border patrol seems to have run into trouble. They are requesting assistance. Shall I dispatch?"

There was a short pause as the commander of the _Brescia_ considered.

"How far away are we from their last known location?" he said shortly.

"Quite close, sir. It would only take a few minutes to-"

The captain waved his hand. "It's been a while since we've been in a position to assist anyone. Redirect the _Brescia's_ course to intercept."

"Sir!" The soldier clicked his heels together, bowed, and turned to the rest of the crew. "You heard the captain! Let's go!"

* * *

"Cool the levistones!" Gaddes commanded. "If they're going to try and force us down, we're going to give them a fight!"

"Sarge!"

The crew responded quickly, and the ship buckled and groaned as the levistones doubled their power, trying to force their way through the unyielding guymelefs. Hitomi almost lost her footing, but Van grabbed her around the shoulders before she hit the floor. She looked up at him and saw an expression of grim determination etching his features.

"I'm going to get my sword," he said just above the din of groaning metal.

"Van, don't. There's something wrong about this. I can feel it." She clutched at his arm and looked up at the enemy bearing down on them. She could make out exactly where the metal would give way if it failed. Van followed her gaze, and then turned to her, serious.

"No matter what's wrong, I have to be prepared," he said. He disengaged her arm. "I'll be back."

"Van!" she called after him, but he didn't respond. As soon as he disappeared around a corner, the ship gave one great buckle and began to fall like a piece of paper from the sky. Gaddes swore loudly and ordered his men to compensate for the loss of altitude, but it was already too late. Once one levistone was lost, it was nearly impossible to avoid falling to the ground.

Hitomi's attention snapped around and she focused her gaze on the closest of the attacking guymelefs. It was flying erratically, but with purpose. Hitomi found it odd that a highly disciplined army like Zaibach would allow such an unskilled flyer to pilot a guymelef. According to her few conversations with Folken, those type of troops were usually relegated to the front lines. A thought began forming at the corner of her mind, but before she could make sense of it, the belly of the airship began scraping the treeline.

"This is bad," Gaddes said through clenched teeth. "Hold onto something!"

And the ship crashed to the ground, throwing everyone who wasn't holding onto something to the floor. Because Hitomi had grabbed hold of one of the consoles, she didn't lose her footing. Dazed, she looked out the windows and scanned the horizon. In the distance, she could just make out what looked like a group of people coming toward them, flanked on two sides by vehicles of some kind, perhaps animal-drawn war machines. It looked like it would take them a while to arrive, but in the meantime, they had the two guymelefs to deal with.

Van ran back into the cockpit, now fully clothed and armed. Immediately, he ran to Hitomi's side.

"Put on some clothes and hide. If they find out who you are they're not going to be merciful."

"Who I am?" Hitomi protested. "What about you? They'll kill you if they figure out that you're Escaflowne's pilot! I'm not going to abandon you! I can help!"

Dryden groaned from his place on the floor. Blood was dripping from a cut under his hairline. "We don't have any guymelefs on board, so we're completely outmatched. If Hitomi can do anything at all, you'd better let her help you."

"Dryden! Are you okay?" Hitomi exclaimed. She ran over to him and helped him to his feet. Gaddes took his other side. The crew looked to him as he got Dryden to his feet.

"You know what to do, dirtbags," he commanded, hoisting his employer's arm over his shoulder.

"I love this part," one of the crew sighed. And they began to file out of the room to protect their cargo, drawing their weapons as they went.

"I'm fine," Dryden insisted once he was on his feet. "Let me go, I can walk; it's just a superficial scratch. Ah, where's my beautiful wife when you need her...?"

"You left her," Hitomi reminded him as they led him to the wall, where he could steady himself more easily.

"Oh! Right! Well, at least I'm always the first to admit when I've been a fool."

Gaddes snorted derisively, and they let Dryden go. Outside, the group of Zaibach soldiers were looming closer, and to make matters worse, several black specs were approaching from the horizon, and fast.

"Looks like reinforcements," Gaddes observed.

"We don't have time for this," Van said. "Hitomi, if you're going to help, come with me."

He held out his hand to her, and she nodded and took it.

"Gaddes! Take care of Dryden!" Hitomi called out over her shoulder. The man nodded and waved at them as they vanished into the ship, racing to the most likely place anyone would break in: the hatch to the cargo-hold. The crew of the Crusade was already gathered around, some of them sporting swords, and one man licking and polishing a set of throwing knives. They looked up at Van and Hitomi as they crossed the threshold to the room.

"Any ideas, King?" asked Reeden.

Van immediately took charge. "Pile as many boxes as you can around the entrance and create a corridor. We want to funnel them in one at a time; it's the easiest way to defend ourselves when we're outnumbered."

"Right you are, boss," quipped Kio, and the crew set to work. Hitomi buckled down and helped as well, and with so many hands, the corridor was built in seconds. They took position and waited.

Outside the door, they heard something scraping to get in. It was a stroke of luck that the enemy wasn't using the guymelefs to tear their way in, but it was hard to tell what they were doing on the other side.

"Hitomi, stay behind me," Van whispered, clutching his sword and falling into his usual fighting stance, one foot in front of the other, sword forward, torso to the side. Hitomi stood behind them and concentrated. She could hear everyone breathing.

On the other side of the hatch, the scraping grew louder. Then, the lock popped. Long, spindly fingers slowly reached through the door and paused there, as if searching for something.

_Who are you?_ Hitomi thought. In her mind, she could see her pendant swinging back and forth like a pendulum. Then she focused her thoughts and opened her eyes inside.

_On the ground was a uniformed body, and then a knife wet with blood. The shadow of a guymelef. _

_A group of men hid while legions of ships flew overhead and thousands of war machines shook the earth. _

_One man climbed out of his Alseides, stopping to urinate. And then._

"They're fakes," she breathed.

Van looked at her, confused. "Hitomi?"

The sound of something very big, moving very fast, rushed overhead and the fingers suddenly withdrew. People were yelling at each other mixed with guttural hissing, and then there were fading footsteps, followed by the unmistakable clank and whir of an Alseides taking off. In the air, a few of the arriving units changed direction to follow the fleeing ones. All around the felled airship, there was a series of heavy thuds as four guymelefs landed.

Van tensed up, but Hitomi grabbed his wrist. "Don't worry! It's really Zaibach this time!"

"Hitomi, what-"

There was a loud knocking at the door of the cargo hold, and a muffled voice sifted through the walls. "Hello? Is anyone hurt?"

Prompted by a confident look from Hitomi, Van lowered his sword. The crew of the ship looked dubious, but they followed his lead and began to lower theirs as Hitomi called to the people on the other side of the hatch.

"We're fine, Except someone is a little hurt! Hold on; we'll let you in!"

Outside, one of the last flying fortresses in Zaibach dropped its cloaking and pixelated into existence.

* * *

Van was standing in the corner of the ship's bridge. His arms were folded across his chest, and he stared intently at the newcomer, a high-ranking Zaibach soldier named Amparo. The soldier was standing at ease with his arms behind his back, speaking with Dryden, Gaddes, Van, and Hitomi about how they were brought down. Hitomi thought him quite steady for being able to stand so calmly and unconcernedly under Van's quelling gaze. He was also surprisingly young to have an entire flying fortress under his command. Not much older, she thought, than Van or herself.

"We have been tracking this group for a few months now. We believe that a few of them are dopplegangers, but that the majority are human or beast-man. They killed two of our elite soldiers during the war, stealing their guymelefs to aid in border-raids, and have been using the name of Zaibach to coerce ships from the sky ever since."

A bell rang in Hitomi's mind. "When they were trying to order us down, they used the name of the Emperor... they don't know he's dead, do they?"

Captain Amparo turned to her, pale eyes widening. He smiled. "You're very perceptive. Outside of the capital, it isn't yet common knowledge."

"You don't seem too rattled by his passing," Dryden commented.

Amparo shrugged. "He was a man who believed in his people. The citizens mourn, but I trust our new leader, and agree with many of his ideas. We would not have seen their like under the late Emperor."

Van furrowed his eyebrows. "I see that loyalty isn't one of the qualities looked for in a soldier of Zaibach."

"Van!" Hitomi scolded. Behind Dryden, Gaddes brought his palm to his face in exasperation.

But Amparo turned to Van, his expression carefully blank. "Van? King Van, of Fanelia?"

"What of it?" Van challenged, standing in front of Hitomi.

Amparo's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, then returned to normal. He cleared his throat, and his voice took on a clipped tone. "Nothing of it. I was merely confirming, your majesty. I may have fought against you once during the war; I was a pilot before I was granted command of the _Brescia_. I served in the Army of Copper, under the command of General Adelphos Gein, who is now our Regent. Though the Emperor is dead, I remain loyal to Zaibach, and to my commander."

"And Regent Adelphos is expecting us to arrive this evening," Dryden cut in, trying to diffuse the situation. "We thank you for your assistance, Captain Amparo. If you could do us one further favor?"

The Captain clicked his heels together and turned to face Dryden, leaving Van glowering at the back of his head. "Yes, Prince Regent?"

"Send word ahead that we will be a few hours late. The men won't finish the repairs on the port levistone for a while yet."

"Of course, Prince Regent," Amparo agreed with a bow. "We will be nearby, if you happen to need us again. I extend to you my wishes for better luck on the rest of your journey. I hope to see you and your crew in Asturia."

"Thank you for your help," Hitomi called out.

Amparo stared at her for a few seconds, and then bowed his head in her direction. She smiled in return. But as he exited the bridge, he did not acknowledge Van.

"Well!" Dryden said after a few seconds had passed. "Now that we've thoroughly offended the person who saved us from pirates, we should get to work repairing the levistones. Are your men up for the task, Gaddes?"

Gaddes cocked his head and grinned wolfishly. "Sure. But we get extra money for it."

"You mercenaries are going to ruin me," Dryden said with an exaggerated grimace. "I'll hear no end of it from Mr. Rat. Hitomi."

"Yes?"

"Take Van outside and cool him off. If you want to stay in my company, you have to be civil, royalty or not."

Van gave Dryden a surly, withering look and stalked off.

"Did you really have to say it that way?" Hitomi asked, exasperated.

"No. But it was extremely satisfying!" he declared with an exalting smile.

Hitomi rolled her eyes.

"Look on the bright side, little lady," Gaddes said to her retreating form. "At least he'll be mad at Dryden instead of you."

* * *

"Van, Dryden was right. You were really rude to that guy," Hitomi said. They were standing together on the outer deck of Dryden's ship. The day was cool and mild, and the sun was bright in a sky dotted with clouds like white smoke. She silently thanked herself for having the foresight to get dressed before following Van outside.

Van shrugged irritably. He was slouched against the railing with his sword balanced against his shoulders, and the movement caused it to rattle in its scabbard.

Hitomi folded her arms across her chest and frowned. "I just wish you would control yourself sometimes."

She leaned her elbows against the railing and looked down at the crew of the Crusade, hard at work securing the loose levistone back into place. The wind ruffled her hair as she watched them, causing the tendrils of her bangs to move as if underwater. Gaddes noticed her watching them, and waved. She smiled and waved back.

"Even though it's Dornkirk," Van said, his words cutting through her quietness, "It's disgusting when soldiers are so disloyal."

"But you saw what Zaibach was like. The people were unhappy. Maybe they were happy once, but not anymore. Even soldiers have opinions when they live like that."

He joined her, dropping his sword back to his side and leaning against the railing to watch the crew. "They shouldn't share those opinions so freely to the enemy."

"The ememy?" Hitomi replied, incredulous. "The war is over, Van. I thought you realized that."

"Until a treaty is signed, we're still the enemy," he insisted, stubbornly.

Her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, and she said, "You shouldn't think like that. I thought it was really good of him to be honest with us. He seems like he really believes in his new leader."

"He would. You heard him. It's his former commander in charge now. Of course he's happy."

"You're just resentful because you were saved by someone from Zaibach," she said, angry. As soon as it was out of her mouth, though, she felt a small pang of regret. She might have spoken the truth, but it was far too soon after the war for her to be pointing out such things.

And Van responded in kind. He pushed himself back from the railing and shot her an angry look. "How am I supposed to feel?" he growled. "Happy? I just spent the last few months fighting them! They destroyed my homeland!"

"They went out of their way to save us! You're supposed to be grateful!" she shouted. Her voice echoed all the way down to the levistones, where several crew members looked up from their task and stared in their direction.

Van's face colored at their notice. He turned away from Hitomi. "I can't do that," he said, quietly.

She shook her head and frowned. "What happened to all those things you said last night, about not wanting revenge anymore?"

"It's not the same thing."

"Why can't it be?" she said, her voice desperate now.

"It's not that easy."

Hitomi stared at the back of his head. The wind was calming down now, and his hair only moved slightly in the stilling wind. "I never said it was. You're not listening to me."

"You don't understand," he said to the sky.

She clenched her fists. It was always the same with him. 'You wouldn't understand,' or 'How could you comprehend my grief?' She felt something boiling up from inside her, and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself, her voice high and strained. "I understand better than anyone! I was ripped away from my home, too! I want to go back, just like you! I want to start my life again! But I don't take it out on everyone, do I!? Fanelia burned down months ago, but now you've got the chance to go back and rebuild it again, and you won't have to leave anyone behind when you do! You don't... you..."

Van turned around to face her, surprised. Hitomi's face was turning red, and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away with her fists and said, "You're the one who doesn't know how hard it is. You're so concerned with your own feelings and responsibilities that you don't... notice that I... and you always take it out on people..."

Van put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the face. She looked right back at him through her tears, her former rage now replaced by grief. "Why are you so mad all the time?"

Without saying anything, he pulled her to him. She clutched at his shirt and tried to stop crying.

"You can't... say things like that," she said against his chest, aware that she wasn't making much sense.

"I'm sorry, Hitomi," he said, his hand in her hair.

"I don't like fighting with you. It's stupid," she muttered.

He tightened his grip on the back of her head. "I didn't know."

"You should have known," she said, miserably, hugging him tighter.

"How? You didn't tell me," he said, his voice high.

"I don't know. You just should have."

Van pushed her away so that he could look at her, his hands firmly on both her shoulders. "Do you really feel that way? About wanting to go home?"

She wiped away her tears with her sleeves. "Of course I want to go home. I miss everyone so much. My mom, my dad, even my stupid brother. Yukari and Amano, too... it hurts to think about it. And now it hurts more."

"Why?"

"You know why," she said quietly, looking away.

"I don't," he insisted. "Look at me, please."

She tried to meet his gaze, but when she saw the intent look in his eyes, she found she couldn't.

"Hitomi," he pleaded.

She swallowed and looked up. With a weak smile, she said, "It's because of you, idiot."

He cupped his hand to the side of her face and looked at her. Then, he sighed and dropped his hand to his side. He seemed to be looking for something to say, but couldn't find the right words to express himself.

"What is it?" Hitomi said, sniffing and wiping her eyes clean.

"I never meant to..." he began, and then changed tracks while avoiding her eyes. "I'll keep my promise to you. I'll get you home safe. No matter what happens here, I'll get you home safe. Okay?"

He spoke in a controlled voice, as if he were trying to fight something down that was trying to get out. Concerned, Hitomi stepped closer and put her hand on his arm. At contact, and without meaning to do so, Hitomi caught a flash of his thoughts.

_Don't go._

She jerked her fingers back as if she'd been shocked. Van looked at her sharply, following the movements of her fingers as she curled them to her palm.

"I'm sorry!" she said, her eyes sad and frightened. "I'm sorry!"

He blinked, and took a step toward her. "Hitomi, what-?"

"I'm sorry!" she repeated, her hands clutched in front of her. She had started crying again. He reached her and covered her body with his, holding her tightly, as if she would fly away if he didn't hold her there.

"It's okay," he said, clumsily. "Don't cry."

_Don't go._

He kissed her on the side of her face. She couldn't bear it. It was his tenderness, not his temper, that was breaking her heart. She closed her eyes and sobbed.

* * *

After Hitomi had cried herself dry, she wanted to be alone for a while. Van was, at first, reluctant, sure that if he wasn't there to hold her that she would dissolve into tears again, but he gave in once she insisted that she just needed some time to herself, to relax. Watching him walk away from the door of the library, she was grateful for being strong enough to keep the real reason for her tears to herself.

Inside the library, she found Dryden arguing with a worried Mr. Rat. She tried to excuse herself, but Dryden insisted that she stay for backup. She was surprised how entertaining it turned out to be, watching the worrisome rat-man try to argue down Dryden's latest ideas for a price-cut on the medical supplies. It was apparent to Hitomi that Dryden didn't intend to follow through on any of his suggestions. Teasing was just his way.

The day passed quickly after that. The crew of the Crusade finished their work on the detached levistones when the sun was at the apex of the sky, and they set off shortly afterward. Dryden lamented the hours that he'd lost in trade due to the messy attack and the crew's overtime, but was immensely cheered when Mr. Rat told him that the Asturian government was going to pay the crew extra, at no cost to his personal coffers. Still, he found another way to tease his accountant by ordering everyone on the ship to celebrate over expensive drinks after their upcoming landing in Zaibach.

When it got dark, Dryden left Hitomi to do some final inventory checks before their landing in Zaibach. He insisted, however, that she eat something first, and ordered up a meal from the kitchens, along with a special concoction "guaranteed to lift your spirits without the use of spirits!" It was bitter and aromatic, but she had to admit that drinking it made her feel better. It was certainly lessening the pain in her head.

Still, she felt like she'd swallowed lead. She didn't cry often, and she hated the way it exhausted her once she was finished.

She sighed at her empty dinner plate and looked out the window. It really was rather beautiful outside. The Mystic Moon was very low in the sky tonight, and it was turning the sky a luminescent dark blue along the veil of the Milky Way. On the horizon she could see a cluster of white and yellow lights, and she wondered if it was Zaibach. Van could have told her, if he were there.

Placing her palms on the desk in front of her, she pushed herself up. It had been long enough. She ran her fingers through her hair and tried to smooth it down again, but judging from her reflection in the window, she hadn't managed to tame the hairs in the back that always managed to stick up just a little. Van would probably be outside at this time of night. He probably wouldn't mind some ruffled hair.

However, he wasn't outside. He wasn't anywhere she could think of. She tried entering his cabin, going down to the kitchens to see if he'd gone in search of food, and even checking the bridge and asking Gaddes, who said that he thought he'd seen Van heading for the cargo hold. It felt almost as if she were just a few steps behind him, and that if she turned the next corner fast enough, she might be able to catch a glimpse of his retreating form. But after searching behind the piles of boxes in the cargo hold, she came to the conclusion that he probably didn't want to be found.

The question remained now of what to do with the rest of her night. Dryden was busy organizing his accounts with Mr. Rat, and Gaddes and the crew were currently engaged in a rousing session of "pilot the ship," which left her options limited to sitting and staring out the window or retiring to her room for the night. She was well-fed and tired, so she decided that she'd try Van's room one more time before going across the hall to her own room.

Once again, his room was vacant. Feeling a little let down, she pushed open the door to her room and, to her great surprise, found Van perched on her bed.

"What are you doing here? I was looking for you everywhere!" she admonished, her hands on her hips.

"I was waiting for you," he said, looking up.

"Oh." She shut the door behind her and leaned against it, her hands behind her back.

Van tried to open his mouth to say something, but closed it again and looked away from her and out her small window. "I'm sorry about earlier. I say things without thinking sometimes."

She blushed a little and looked at her feet. "It's okay. I do too. I got a little worked up back there."

"So we're fine now?" Van asked, transferring his gaze to her face.

Hitomi looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah. We're fine."

Both were aware of the lingering question that skulked around their apologies, but for the time being, they pretended it wasn't there, preferring to lose themselves in the warm fervor of relieved contact which follows most fights. Hitomi climbed onto the bed and settled herself in the crook of Van's neck and shoulder, and they reclined against the wall, breathing each other in as they watched the sky pass by.

And the city of Zaibach lay spread before them, waiting.

* * *

A/N: This is probably as good a stopping point as any. I'm about to go out of town for two weeks, so the next update will be the week after next instead of same time next week. I'll be working on the story when I can, though. Thank you to everyone who's stuck with the story so far. I hope that it's as enjoyable to you to read as it is to me to write it. 


	11. Preludes

Chapter 11 - Preludes

It was midday in Zaibach, and the Sorcerer Paruchi was in a foul mood. Not only was the funding for living human experimentation and fate-alteration studies being completely cut out from under him, but as he swung out of bed that morning, he knocked his spectacles to the floor and stepped on them. Now, staring hatefully at the world from behind one cracked glass, he contemplated what to lengths he would have to go in order to get his former colleague Folken under the knife.

Here was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it was being utterly wasted on what he saw as nothing of importance. It was rare enough to come across any Draconian specimen. Sure, the occasional child would wander away from its progenitors every so often, but this was a full-fledged adult who had died with is wings spread. Even now, as he lay frozen deep underground, his black wings lay caked with blood and ice, ready to be cut, inspected, and cataloged. If Emperor Dornkirk were alive, he would see no reason to keep such a fine specimen stored away like last week's meals.

But, Paruchi reminded himself as he took careful notes on the strands of feather under his microscope, now a military man was in charge, and his out-dated ideas of honor would be the modus operandi in Zaibach. At least, until he fell out of power. Science, he feared, would suffer greatly.

As he leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin with the tip of his pen, he heard someone enter the lab. Turning around, he saw that it was Garufo, a fellow Sorcerer who also lamented the change in regime.

"Greetings, friend," he said.

Paruchi ran one hand over his bald head and smiled in greeting. "Good afternoon. Have you any news from the mundane world?"

Garufo fastened the clasp on his cape and sat down across from his fellow. "I do. I am wondering if you would care to hear it."

"Why would I want otherwise?"

With a teasing smile, Garufo laced his fingers together and rested his chin on the place where his hands joined. "It does, I am told, involve the fate of the winged Draconian you have so coveted these past days."

Paruchi groaned. "I suppose I can take another disappointment, if I must. What is it, then?"

"According to my contacts in the Regent's house, two unexpected visitors arrived in the capital this morning. Can you guess who I mean?"

The bald man swore and threw his pen to the floor. Then, collecting his wits, he paused and considered the number. "Just two, did you say?"

Garufo tossed his shoulder-length black hair and rolled his eyes dismissively. "The Asturian is currently engaged in recuperating the remains of a failed experiment."

"The Dragon and the Girl from the Mystic Moon. And you say that his... majesty was not aware of their impending arrival?

"Not until yesterday afternoon, when he received a message from one of his cronies on the Egzardian frontier." Garufo examined his fingernails, lazily. "They will be here for the next three days, so I am told. And that, I am afraid, is all I know."

Paruchi stood up and walked over to his pen, retrieving it from where it had been thrown. He picked it up, shook it once to test it for ink, and then returned to his seat. Garufo was already taking out his notes from the previous day, when he had been studying some interesting samples of blood from the medical units in the refugee camps. There was currently an outbreak of sweating sickness in the southern camp, and Garufo fancied that he could see slight differences in this blood when compared to the blood of healthy patients. While Paruchi wholly supported anything involving the better understanding of disease, he was quite sure that Garufo was chasing the wrong dragon with his latest idea that tiny animals were the true cause of sickness, and not miasmatic air.

Gently, he adjusted the focus on his microscope and began to sketch the almost translucent black fibers of the stolen feather. It was peaceful, doing this kind of work. There was almost no end to it.

Pausing, Paruchi looked up from his work. "Garufo, my friend, did you say that the girl and the Dragon are restricted on time?"

Though he did not look up from preparing his slides, Garufo nodded.

"How long did you say, exactly?"

"Three days."

"Interesting. If they were to leave Zaibach without claiming the specimen, what do you think would result?"

Garufo slid his sample under his microscope and said, without looking up, "The Regent would have to find other means to dispose of it."

Paruchi smiled. "How intriguing."

Sketching something in his notes, the other Sorcerer replied, "I wouldn't interfere if I were you, friend. Science is no bedfellow to Politics these days."

"So I am told."

The two men returned to their work, and did not speak for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

Behind the lab in which the Sorcerers were doing their research, something was happening. Dirty city birds scattered in the air as two young men in identical uniforms fell together into a pile of empty boxes. Quickly, they got to their feet, but the older of the two managed to stand up first and threw a punch before the younger man had gotten his bearings. 

"You're a maniac, just like he was!" the young man yelled, glaring up at his attacker.

There was a semi-circle of men and women in identical uniforms, shouting words of encouragement and insult at the pair as the older man managed to kick the younger man's feet out from under him and land a sharp blow to the ribs.

"Never," he shouted through gritted teeth. Blood was trickling from a gash on his forehead, falling onto the cobblestones below and mixing with the mire of trash and passing feet. "Never insult Emperor Dornkirk. Never. You don't- how could- never."

With each mention of the word "never" he kicked his opponent again, and the younger man held his hands in front of his face in a gesture of surrender. The crowd whistled and jeered at this, though a few were beginning to look sick and shouting for the fight to stop. But the older man kept kicking, and was showing no sign of stopping.

"Disgusting," someone said. Though the words were not shouted, they carried enough weight behind them to reach the ears of the sparring men. The crowd went suddenly silent as the man angrily looked around for the source of the insult. And there, standing a few feet away from the wrecked boxes, stood Van.

"What is?" the man challenged.

"Attacking someone when they've already surrendered. You're disgusting."

The man spat on the ground and wiped his mouth, leaving a streak of blood across his nose. "This isn't your business, stranger."

But Van walked up to the quivering person on the ground as if the man with blood on his face hadn't said anything. He rested his hand on his sword, making sure it was extremely visible as he knelt to check on the beaten young man. He was breathing, though he had apparently lost consciousness somewhere between the time that his assailant stopped kicking him and Van's approach.

"Did you hear me? I said it isn't your business," the man growled, advancing one step.

"And I said you were disgusting," Van said, getting to his feet. "Now leave."

There was a murmur from the crowd as the raised his fists. He took another step towards Van, but there was a quick flash and the tip of Van's sword was quite suddenly near the tip of the man's nose.

Slowly, the man lowered his arms. Tossing his head, he made a noise that sounded like, "Hmph," and walked away through the parting crowd. They whispered among themselves and followed in his wake. Van sheathed his sword.

"Unnnnngh..."

The young man was regaining consciousness. His fingers twitched in and out convulsively as he struggled to get to his feet. Without asking for permission, Van reached down and hoisted the man to his feet. Groaning, he tried to push Van away, but he held fast.

"Calm down. I'm going to make sure you're okay, and then I'm going to buy you lunch."

"Wh... why?"

"Because I like people who remember the Emperor for what he was."

* * *

Hitomi was amazed at the smell that pervaded Zaibach. It was unlike anything else she had breathed in Gaea, which was pervaded with earthy, natural scents and the slight smell of humans and animals. Metal, coal smoke, and the hot, sickly scent of garbage and dirty water pervaded the streets of Zaibach everywhere they turned, as well as a heady, animal smell that wafted from the corners of the city and mingled with the heat of the day. As she wiped a bit of sweat out of her eyes and leaned against the last of Dryden's boxes, she was thankful that she didn't have to stay there longer. The winters, she heard, were even worse than the summers. 

Though she didn't know it, the particular odor of Zaibach could have been found in the streets of London during the Industrial Revolution, or the streets of Tokyo shortly following Commodore Perry's arrival in Japan. Speedy, hastily applied machines spat pollutants and human waste gathered as the population exploded, creating a stench that held no nostalgia on reflection by those who had lived through it. And on the outskirts of Zaibach, the additional smell of sickness and misery mingled with the odor of industrialization to create a smell worth forgetting.

Except when the scent of cooking wafted through the streets. And the open doors of perfume shops sent their spices dancing on the wind. And bathhouses. And tiny, hearty vegetable gardens struggling between the tightly-packed residences. When those wonderful reminders of city life crossed Hitomi's nose, she felt a pang for home so urgent, so visceral that she had to stop and collect herself before she was caught with tears in her eyes.

This bothered her. For one thing, she hadn't expected to be hit with several cases of homesickness at once while in Zaibach, of all places. She still feared it a little, after everything she had been through during the war. But when those familiar scents crossed her nose, she would be lost.

She pushed the thought from her mind and tried to focus on her surroundings. She would not tear up here, in the middle of a medical camp, surrounded by the crew of the Crusade.

"You're free for the day," Dryden said. "Thank you for the work you put in. Be back early tomorrow morning for tomorrow's deliveries, okay? And be careful about what you drink. I don't want to deal with you complaining about your hangovers."

The rest of the crew stretched, complained about their aching backs, and variously contemplated the amount of alcohol they would consume that evening and the qualities of Ziabach women. Ort, the crewman with a livid scar over his bald head, smiled. "When we work this hard, it only makes us want to drink more."

"Just... take it a little easy, will you?"

"You won't get any promises from us!" shouted Reeden, making what looked like an obscene gesture.

Dryden sighed. This was definitely a battle he couldn't win. "At least stay away from the Basramian stuff."

"They have Basramian stuff!?"

There was a roar of delight from the crew, and they departed in a hurry, leaving Dryden standing with his eyes raised to the sky in the midst of echoing guffaws.

"The joke's on them," he said. "With any luck, one shot will knock them out until tomorrow morning."

Hitomi smiled.

She had accompanied Dryden on his last delivery of the day, this one to one of the medical camps near the outskirts of the capital. Dryden wanted her and Van to come along with him for what he insisted was "moral support," though she strongly suspected that what he really hoped to do was to teach Van a lesson on the universality of suffering. Curious for her own reasons, Hitomi had accepted immediately, but Van muttered something about needing to be elsewhere, and slipped away before either she or could protest.

_I don't _need_ him with me, anyway,_ Hitomi thought, _And I guess it'll be good for him to go off on his own for a while, after yesterday. I hope he isn't lonely..._

But, in danger of heading down another unpleasant path, Hitomi shook her head and looked up. Apparently while she was lost in thought, a man in a black cowl, possibly a doctor, judging from the splatters of blood on his pale blue gloves, had walked up to Dryden and was busy rifling through the contents of one of his crates. The merchant stood behind him, watching.

"Fresh bandages... medical floss... needles... bottles... wonderful, a few of them were broken during the last influx of patients... it looks like everything we needed is here."

"You request, I provide," Dryden said in a grave voice.

The doctor brushed the dirt from his hands and got to his feet. "We thank you for what you've done for us today. I would shake your hand, but as you can see..."

Dryden shook his head and raised his hands in front of him, palms outward. "Thank you for the compliment, but it's not necessary. I'm getting well paid for this."

"As you say," the doctor said, with a bow of his head. "Then, if you'll excuse me."

"Enjoy cutting people up and sewing them back together, doctor," Dryden said, waving at his retreating form. The doctor snorted out of derision or mirth, and disappeared among the crowd of war refugees.

"I hope it helps," Hitomi said.

"Anything will, in this place," said Dryden.

He was right. Though the pallets people lay upon were clean, they were crowded too closely together, and the family members of the sick or wounded were constantly coming and going, tracking whatever their shoes picked up on the city streets into the makeshift hospital. The air was thick with human breath. It was obvious that the doctors and nurses were overtaxed as well, some choosing to slump against the wall for naps as all the beds were occupied with patients. Dirty bedclothes and soiled bandages were placed in a hamper to be washed and reused. Hitomi wouldn't have come there with a cold.

Without realizing she was speaking aloud, she said, "They don't have a choice, though."

"Talking to yourself is a sign of madness," Dryden lightly noted.

Hitomi blinked, and then sighed, "I can't get away with anything around you."

"I'd be a disgrace to the house of Fassa if I let you. Come on. Let's get back to the ship. I'm sure your young man is wild with worry for you by now."

Hitomi went only a little pink at his use of 'young man,' but didn't protest it. Dryden waited silently behind her as she climbed into their cab, a small, horse-drawn affair with room for four inside, then climbed in after her. The driver let out a shrill "yip!" and the cab took off towards the center of the city, where Dryden's ship was berthed.

"I don't think he's worried," Hitomi said. "He might not even be back yet."

"Back from where?"

She turned away from the window and thought for a moment. "I don't know. He didn't tell me. Maybe he went to visit the Regent. He was talking about wanting to meet with him last night."

"Good luck. My contacts here told me that the Regent is busier than my father at a fire sale. He has as much chance of seeing the Regent as I have of getting my fleet back from the Ispano."

"Poor Van. He's always working so hard."

"It's the curse of royalty everywhere. The world isn't kind to leaders aren't willing to work for their causes."

The cab took a particularly sharp turn and Hitomi and Dryden lurched together. Dryden didn't grab her as she fell on him, nor did he comment on it as she righted herself and scooted to her side of the compartment. She thought that it was strangely polite of him, until she caught sight of his mockingly lecherous smile. Pretending to take offense, she stuck her nose in the air and looked out the window. But the view threw all thoughts of playfulness from her mind.

A wide, open space was spread out under the raised road that the cab was moving speedily down. It was the first time Hitomi had seen so much grass since arriving in Zaibach. A silvery, winding stream wove its way around small trees and various monuments to wars and leaders long past. But what she liked best were the flowers. Hundreds of them, scattered like pieces of a prism over the sharp green grass, gardened into spirals, clouds, or circles. There were surprisingly few people there, Hitomi thought; a perfect place to be alone.

As soon as the park disappeared from view, Hitomi leaned back in her seat and sighed. She was sure that this city, which reminded Hitomi of home, was cramped and alien to Van. He would have liked the park. "I wish he'd have come with us."

"I daresay it would do him some good to see that the citizens of Zaibach have as much claim to suffering as those of Fanelia," Dryden observed.

Hitomi glared at him. "You know that's not what I meant."

"But you know I'm right," Dryden said, cheerfully ignoring her scowl.

It was true, of course. She had said something very like that to Van the day before, in fact but it felt somehow wrong to hear the words put so bluntly, and from someone else's mouth.

"You still shouldn't say it so bluntly."

"Probably not," Dryden agreed with another bright smile.

With a small jolt, the cab pulled in front of the leviship, and Hitomi climbed out, leaving Dryden to deal with the driver. It served him right for being so... observant, she thought, mutinously.

She then made her way through the familiar maze of hallways and on to the observation deck, where she was sure Van would be if he had indeed returned from his errands. She was not wrong.

He greeted her with a wave, which she returned with a smile of her own. "Hi," she said.

He craned his neck to look over her shoulder, checking for people, then walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead. "You're back."

"So are you," she said. There was a short pause in which she waited for him to tell her where he had been all day while she traveled with Dryden and the crew, but he did not volunteer to fill the silence. After a few long seconds, she decided to plunge ahead with a leading question. "Did you hear from the Regent at all?"

"No. I had lunch in the palace, but he didn't join me. His secretaries said that they'd be sure to let him know I was there, and advised me to try again tomorrow."

So he _had_ tried to contact the Regent. "It's sort of strange that he wouldn't see you, though, isn't it?"

"Not really." He cocked his head to the side in thought. "Visiting royalty always get through pretty fast, but a day's wait isn't unusual from time to time. We might not hear anything until tomorrow morning."

"We're only here for two more days. What happens if we don't hear from him before we have to go?"

"I've been thinking about that," Van said, exiting the room to walk down a narrow, poorly-lit hallway.

She followed. "Did you come up with anything?"

After taking a few unfamiliar hallways, Van placed his gloved hand on a gilded handle which hung in the center of a heavy wooden door, and pushed it open. She followed him in the room, where the last remaining dregs of sunlight cast Van in dark silhouette. He shut the door behind them.

Finally, he answered. "I did. We need to take a walk."

"Take a walk?" she repeated, confused.

"That's right. Tonight, after it gets dark. We're going to find out where they're keeping Folken's body. And then, we're going to steal him."

Hitomi's mouth automatically opened to protest him trying to leave her behind, then closed. She leveled a frank gaze on Van. He was making quite a show of rifling through an ornate trunk which lay flush against the wall. Every few seconds he would lift a piece of cloth out of the trunk, examine it, and then throw the cloth on the floor and return to his search.

"You're not... you're not going to try and leave me behind?" she asked.

"This one's good," he muttered, then stood up and approached her, a lustrous brown robe in hand. "I'd like to, but I don't think you'd let me, to be honest. Here, put this on."

He handed her the robe, which she took and held loosely at her side. "You're right; I wouldn't. What's this for?"

"To cover up your clothes. Everyone will be able to spot you in those; they're too obviously foreign. No one in Ziabach will give information to the King of Fanelia and the Girl from the Mystic Moon."

"What about you?" she asked as she tried draping the robe over her school uniform. "I don't think I saw any shirts like yours when I went out into the city today."

"Don't worry about it," he said, holding up what looked like a poncho made of burlap. He pulled it over his head. The poncho covered him down to the knees. No one would be able to guess he was Fanelian from his clothes.

"I need something to fasten this. No, wait."

Hitomi dropped the cloth to the floor and began unbuttoning her school jacket. She folded it haphazardly and tossed it into the trunk, then removed the ribbon from around her neck. Holding it in her left hand while she worked, she managed to wrap the cloth around her as if she were wearing a shin-length yukata. Then, holding the ribbon in place with one hand and tying with the other, she secured her disguise, tucking the last tendrils of ribbon underneath the folds in the robe.

"How did you do that?" Van said, gaping.

She shrugged. "It was sort of like tying an obi. I hope it doesn't look too messy."

"That was amazing."

"It's not a big deal," she said, smiling despite her claims of modestly. "Does it look like I belong on Gaea now?"

She spun around, showing off. Van looked at her with an expression she couldn't identify; something faraway and difficult and almost lost. He swallowed before speaking.

"Yes. You do."

And for all the perception the gods had seen fit to grace her with, she didn't detect the what else was in his eyes as he said that. She was too wrapped up in excitement, too happy to be included in his plan to bring Folken's body back to Fanelia. So she spun in place and laughed. And when she stopped and turned to him, beaming, the moment had already passed.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Right now?"

"Yes. It's getting dark and there's no point in waiting for it to get darker."

"Shouldn't we tell everyone that we're leaving, though?"

Van shook his head. "Dryden'd just make fun of us and Gaddes and his men are already gone. Are you having second thoughts?"

"No!" she said, waving her hands at him. "No. I'm ready if you are."

"Good. Then let's go."

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry for the long gap between updates. I was out of town for longer than I intended, and what's worse, while I was away I lost the thread of the story. I think I've found it again, though, so updates should be more frequent than once a month. Oh, and I figured out that I had anonymous reviews turned off for some reason, so I fixed that as well; now anyone can comment. Finally, I'm sorry this chapter is so short! If I were to continue with it, the thing would end up being monstrous. The next chapter will be full of action to make up for this lull, haha.

EDIT: I went back and added a scene that I forgot to add. The next chapter wouldn't end up making much sense otherwise. (headdesk)

Anyhow, thanks for your patience with me, and see you next time!


	12. Underground

Chapter 12 - Underground

Zaibach at twilight was crowded and hot, but most of all, it was loud. Voices proclaiming that their place had the best deals on food and booze clamored for attention over the cobbled streets, leaving Hitomi wondering how anyone had the ability to locate the source of "2 for 1 special on ale, tonight only!" as it crossed paths with "Half-price on rooms tonight, young sir and lady, discreet employees and no questions!" People shouted for paths, for liquor, for seats, and didn't wait for a response before they forced their way through the teeming crowds.

"Stay close," Van said, unnecessarily. Hitomi readjusted the cloth she had draped over her head and quickened her pace, squeezing her way between two hairy, pungent men who were arguing heatedly with one another, then through a pair of swinging doors.

They were in a small bar. It was still early in the evening, so though there was a modest crowd, most of the tables were still empty, a sight Hitomi met with welcome eyes. She and Van picked one of the more dimly lit tables in the corner, so that they would have a good view of the place without risking being too visible.

"We're near the science district," Van whispered.

"Do you think we're going to see any Sorcerers here?"

"Not if we want to learn anything."

Hitomi cocked her head at him, her eyebrows raised. Van simply smiled and nodded towards the bar. "I'll get you a drink. Wait here."

"As long as it isn't too strong," she called after him. He waved at her over his shoulder as he walked toward the bar, and disappeared around the corner.

Left alone, Hitomi was able to observe her surroundings relatively freely. The long, unpolished bar took up almost half of the front room, with several smaller rooms branching off from the main one. Their table was just out of sight of the bar, though it did offer a good view of the rest of the pub. It wasn't a very well-lit place, which, Hitomi supposed, was appropriate. There was a small haze of smoke in the air, most of it emanating from one of the smaller rooms off to the side, from which voices both masculine and feminine complained, joked, and laughed. A couple of men dressed in black cowls sat like a pair of vampires in the opposite corner of the room, and a group of three old women in elaborate dresses smoked from a water globe a few tables away.

With a cheerful wooden sound, a large tankard of frothy ale appeared in front of Hitomi. Expecting Van, she looked around with a smile on her face that slowly faded when she beheld a tall stranger with an entirely shaved head. One lens of his spectacles was oddly cracked. He looked down at her, his lips set in a polite smile.

"You seem to be sitting at my usual table, milady," he said, his voice quiet and smooth but strangely audible above the chatter of the bar.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know. I can move."

But he held out a hand to stop her. "Please, do not trouble yourself. With your permission, I would like to share the table with you until your companion returns."

"Um... that's fine," Hitomi said, slightly startled by his request. But, she supposed, Zaibach probably had etiquette rules for this kind of situation.

"I thank you," replied the bald man, seating himself across from her. And, much to Hitomi's surprise, he put a second drink down on the table. He must have held it in his other hand. Now that she thought about it, his left hand hadn't been at all visible for their entire conversation, hanging hidden below the tabletop.

"Who's this one for?" she asked, nodding at the tankard in front of her.

"For you, milady. It would have been rude of me to sit without offering something for your inconvenience."

"Oh," she replied, blinking. "Um, thank you. What is it?"

The man's brows furrowed slightly. "Sweet ale, made from Cesarian lampone berries. Forgive me for asking, but where are you from?"

A cold feeling boiled up from the pit of Hitomi's stomach, and before the stranger finished speaking, she took a long draught from her tankard to give herself time to think. Luckily for her tongue, the drink was indeed sweet and very easy to drink. It was fizzy, like beer, but had a bright and fruity taste to it, like berries.

"Wow, that's good!" she exclaimed. Then, smiling unsteadily at him, she said, "I'm sorry, what did you say again?"

"I am curious to know where milady is from," he patiently repeated. "Sweet ale is as common as water on this side of Gaea. I do not believe I have ever met anyone who was not at least passingly familiar with it."

A buzzing sense of relief washed over her. He had unwittingly provided her with just the right escape route. "Oh, well, I'm from the other side of Gaea," she said, laughing a little. Remembering the name of the village she had first arrived at in Gaea, she said, "It's a village called Arzas."

"Very progressive of you," he replied with a respectful nod.

Hitomi had no idea what he was talking about, so she simply shrugged in what she hoped was a convincingly modest manner and returned to her drink, wishing very hard that Van would return to the table soon. It really was a very good drink. Her ears were already beginning to feel pleasantly warm. She took another sip.

"Hitomi?" As if in answer to her wishes, Van appeared from around the corner. He held a different drink in either hand, and was scowling at the table in surprise. He looked suspiciously from Hitomi to the stranger and back again. "What's going on?"

"This is... um..."

"Paruchi," the man supplied.

"Yes, Paruchi. He says that this is his usual table. I was just telling him that we don't have sweet ale in Arzas!" she emphasized the last word, hoping that he would catch on and not contradict her.

Van frowned. "Hitomi, let's find another table."

"There is no need, friends," Paruchi said. "I am not expecting my friend for a short while yet, and I would not object to the company."

For a moment, Van hesitated, but then shook his head. "No. Thank you for your offer, though. It's much appreciated."

Hitomi turned to Paruchi apologetically. "We're on a date," she whispered, as Van stalked off with the drinks. "Thanks for the sweet ale. I hope your friend shows up soon."

"I understand. Thank you for the conversation, milady," he said, with a bow of his head. And for a split second, Hitomi could have sworn she saw his eyes widen and his mouth go slack in surprise. But the moment passed as soon as it arrived, and when he looked up at her again, his face was once again smooth and impassive.

"Um. Excuse me," she said. And she turned to follow Van, clutching her drink to her chest.

Van held out a chair for Hitomi, which she awkwardly accepted. He had chosen a table next to the black-cowled couple near the door, who were speaking very quietly for each other and shooting someone else in the bar occasional mutinous glances, though Hitomi couldn't figure out exactly who it was they were shooting psychic arrows into. Van sat down next to her, brows furrowed.

"I don't like him," he said.

"Van!" she exclaimed. "Don't be so rude! What if he can hear you?"

Though it obviously pained him to do so, he lowered his head and began speaking to her in a whisper. "It can't be a coincidence that he just happened to sit at our table. I didn't see him when he came in the bar. And why did he ask you where you were from?"

"Um, that was my fault. I didn't know what drink he gave me. I guess it was sort of like not recognizing beer," she said, trying to laugh it off. "But he was sort of strange. So...polite."

"Just... be careful. I don't-" But he broke off and, much like Hitomi had done earlier, disguised his obvious unease with a drink. "Do you see the people next to us?"

"The ones in the black capes?" she whispered.

"Those are apprentices. When I was out today, I met someone who knew about Folken. He wasn't an apprentice himself, but he said that his brother was. One of his brother's main duties is to make sure that specimens stay fresh."

"Wait, specimens? You don't mean..." But she trailed off as she realized exactly what he meant. If she looked at it objectively, she supposed that there was nothing inherently wrong with dissecting corpses. That very practice had lead to incredible medical innovations back on Earth, and she was thankful that so many had volunteered their bodies for the cause. But somehow, imagining stately, taciturn Folken's organs being weighed and his beautiful, coal-black wings being sliced off caused her stomach to give an awful turn. She breathed slowly, willing herself not to throw up, and drained the last of the drink Paruchi had given her.

"The man I met today is going to come here and invite us to join him and his brother for drinks. He says that his brother loves to complain about the things they have to do in order to even get close to the specimens. Hitomi."

He paused, and she looked at him, curious.

Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I know you don't like to use your powers. But if this apprentice doesn't tell us where to find my brother, do you think you would be able to find him?"

Though her vision was slowly being clouded by a drunken haze, Hitomi didn't miss the expression on Van's face; something between apology and need. She hiccuped, and thought about it for a moment. "I don't know," she said, finally. "I think I might be able to if I had something of his."

"That isn't a problem." From his pocket, Van pulled out a single, coal-black feather. "It was stuck on my shirt when we went to Fanelia."

He rubbed it between his fingertips for a moment, and then put it back in his pocket, his expression unreadable.

"Van..."

"I'm fine."

She hiccuped again, and shook her head. "I think Folken would be happy knowing you had that. He was... he really cared about you."

She was starting to feel very strange, almost disconnected. In the back of her mind, she understood why Van's face was pained when she finished talking, and why he pulled back a little from her as she tried to place her hand on his. It was still a sensitive subject for Van, and she knew it. But it was like the usual wall between her brain and her mouth had completely disappeared.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her lower lip beginning to tremble.

Van looked at her, frankly puzzled. "Hitomi, are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." she hiccuped again, and looked tragically into the depths of her sweet ale.

Luckily for Van, a bell sounded nearby, and the front door of the pub opened. A young man with very short brown hair, lanky limbs, and big ears let in a surprisingly cold gust of air as he entered, stomping on the doormat to get rid of the dust on his shoes. It was only upon closer inspection that Hitomi noticed the fresh cuts and bruises on his face, and the way he winced with every step as he scanned the room for someone. His eyes lit up when he spotted Van and Hitomi's table, and he began walking towards them before someone called his name.

"Gian!" one of the apprentices shouted. The young man stopped and looked over his shoulder, grinned hugely, and walked over to their table. There, he began speaking with one of them very fast, punctuating his words with gestures toward Van.

"Is that the guy?" Hitomi whispered. Van nodded curtly, never taking his eyes off the exchange. After about a minute, the young man walked toward their table and bowed. When he looked up, he addressed Hitomi.

"It's wonderful to meet you. I'm Gian, and your friend Van got me out of a scrape today. What's your name?"

He was very close. Hitomi leaned back a little, but Gian compensated for the distance, leaving her craning her neck at an odd angle. "Um... Hitomi."

"Would you and Van like to join us? There's lots of room at our table, and I'd really like to introduce Van to my brother Luca."

Hitomi glanced at Van, who was sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed and an almost amused expression on his face. She nodded. "Um... that would be nice."

"Great! We're over there, next to the door." Gian offered his elbow to her as she got to her feet. She was going to decline, but as soon as she stood the room did a strange sort of shuffle, and she ended up grabbing his arm in order to stop herself from falling on the floor. Gian either didn't notice her slight intoxication or didn't care, for he made no comment as he walked her over to where he, his brother, and his brother's friend were stationed. Van sat himself between Gian and Hitomi, folded his arms, and said nothing.

"This is the guy I was telling you about," Gian said. The black-caped men looked at van appraisingly. One of them, Hitomi noticed, looked like an older version of Gian, minus the ridiculous ears; she supposed that he could have been considered handsome. The other one was rather short for a man, with large hands and teeth which clashed with his otherwise petite features. He had a sour expression on his face, as if there was something unpleasant on his mind.

"How do you do?" he said, in a grave, nasal voice. Hitomi tried very hard not to laugh. "I am Viktor, and this is my colleague, Luca. Gian was telling us earlier how you saved him from being beaten to death earlier today."

"Really!?" exclaimed Hitomi. She glared in Van's direction. "You never told me that!"

Van shrugged.

"Yeah, he really saved my ass," said Gian, jovially. "Said he liked it when people told the truth about the Emperor."

Viktor frowned and leaned back in his seat, shadows falling over his face.

Luca, however, looked impressed. "That takes nerve, here."

"He even fought off Miguel!"

"Miguel? Big Miguel with the lazy eye?"

Gian chortled. "That's the one. Turns out his dad was in the army or something. We got into an argument during lunch break and I sort of let slip that I thought the war was a bad idea, then we started shouting... you know how it goes."

"You idiot," Luca said. It was clear to Hitomi that he said it affectionately, for Gian grinned in response and shrugged as if to say that the whole thing was really no big deal.

Sighing exasperatedly, Luca turned to Van. "Thanks for saving my brother. We owe you."

"But why?" Viktor said, from his place in the shadows. "Why would you, a stranger, stoop to aid someone you had never met before? And a servant, no less?"

A servant? Hitomi wondered how a servant came to be the brother of an apprentice Sorcerer. Everywhere else she'd been on Gaea, careers seemed to run in families. Looking at Gian, however, she guessed that he probably just didn't have the right type of mind for the job. He seemed like a man who loved to joke around and relax.

"Hey, I work in the same place you do," said Gian, lazily examining his fingernails. "And I think I get paid more, come to think of it."

Viktor snorted. "We'll compare again in a few years. Still," he turned to Van again. "Why did you do it?"

Leaning forward enough so that Viktor had to reciprocate in order to hear, he whispered, "Because I knew Folken."

The table went quiet. Hitomi felt a nervous tension descend on their little party. Luca's face was the picture of surprise. Viktor's eyes were narrowed, though he scratched his chin thoughtfully. Van gripped the edge of the table with one hand and the hilt of his sword with the other, ready for anything. But Gian, looking smilingly from Luca to Viktor, seemed as relaxed as ever. He was the one who ended up breaking the silence.

"Me getting beat up for disagreeing with someone, Lord Folken wouldn't have stood for that. He always told us that we should speak our minds."

"True," said Viktor. "But we know what happened to him, in the end."

_Uh oh,_ Hitomi thought

Glaring so hard that she was surprised that Viktor didn't get knocked over, Van replied, "He stood up for his principles and stopped Emperor Dornkirk from destroying all of Gaea?"

"I'm not saying that what he did was entirely wrong. But for a man who preached non-violence, he certainly let his principles slide when he killed thousands during the war, including his benefactor."

This, Hitomi was sure, was the wrong thing to say.

There was a click as Van's thumb pushed up on the hilt of his sword and it popped out of its scabbard. Though it was hard to hear over the merry conversations in the pub, Hitomi heard it loud and clear, and put her hand over Van's and shot him a look of warning. He shoved her off, but took his hand off the hilt of his sword and placed it on the table.

"Someone who experiments on children isn't in a position to lecture anyone on principles," he growled.

"How dare you make assumptions about what I do!" Viktor said, his grave voice rising in pitch. He was breathing very hard. "We do not- despicable-"

"Or are you not highly ranked enough to know that secret yet?" Van's voice was low and dangerous, and Viktor looked utterly indignant.

Luca, however, looked trapped. "Now, now," he said nervously, glancing quickly at Viktor. "Calm down. We're not here to fight. Lord Folken meant a lot to all of us, even you, Viktor, please, so it's understandable that..."

"You're not denying it?" said Van.

"I... I didn't say..." he trailed off, his mouth fixed in a strange, open lipped smile. Van's eyes burned in Viktor's direction, and Viktor glared back as haughtily as he could. Gian pulled on his collar nervously.

"You know," Hitomi said, softly. Everyone turned and looked at her. There was a thin layer of smoke floating above her head like a dirty halo, and her cheeks were bright pink. She looked into her empty tankard as she spoke. "I don't think that Folken should have killed Dornkirk either."

"Really?" Viktor said. He leaned back in his chair once again, his large hands planted palm down on the table and his chest decreasing in rhythm. "Then please, talk some sense into this- this- slanderer."

Van made a derisive noise. "It's not slander. Your friend didn't say I was wrong."

Viktor did not reply, but glanced at Luca, looking slightly less sure of himself. Luca gave a fake, high pitched laugh. He was clutching the table so hard that his knuckles had gone white. "Please, there's no need-"

"Really," Hitomi continued, as if she were never interrupted. "Van and I have talked about it before. And we don't really agree... but I don't think Folken needed to kill Dornkirk. He might have even made a mistake doing it. But he thought that he was saving Zaibach, and Gaea, by stopping the man who started the biggest war in the world. And he was willing to do it himself so no one else would have to suffer that kind of burden. You don't know what he went through, or what he sacrificed to stop the war. Or even how much he regretted his role in it. So you should really think before you make assumptions, Viktor. Folken was a good man."

Viktor's his hands closed around his cup, which was filled with a green liquid that he had not drunk since Hitomi and Van had sat down with him. With his jaw clenched and his large teeth just visible beyond his thin lips, he hissed, "And neither should you. How would you know what the former Sorcerer Folken felt while he was killing the man that saved Zaibach from extinction two hundred years ago?"

"Because- because I was with him when-."

Van's eyes widened. "Hitomi, stop-"

She hiccuped, and did not heed Van's warning. "-when he died. I was there. I-"

She broke off and looked down to where Van was clutching her wrist, warning in his eyes. Suddenly, like a lead shot, she was awash with a horrible sense of foreboding. Viktor's entire attitude had changed. He looked at her with new respect in his eyes but she didn't like the way he ran his finger around the rim of his glass. Luca's mouth was completely slack, all his attempts to deflect Van's accusations forgotten. And Gian stroked his chin thoughtfully, looking completely serious for the first time since their introduction.

_Oh no. Everyone's looking at me... what did I just do?_

"I know who you are," said Gian. "You're the Girl from the Mystic Moon."

She stood up abruptly, pushing her chair backward in the process. "I- I need some air. I'll be right back."

"No, wait, don't go. I didn't mean-" Gian said, as he and Van both started to get to their feet.

Smiling in what she hoped was a convincing manner, she said, "Don't get up! Please. I just need some air."

And, turning on her heels, she ran out the door, her white sneakers flashing behind her. She heard Van call after her, but knew him well enough to trust that he'd let her go if she wanted to be alone. So she ignored him, and kept running until the street dead-ended at a row of waist-high railing on top of a hill. She leaned against the protective railing, put her face between her outstretched arms, and groaned.

"I'm such an idiot. I should have told him to mind his own business, ugh, now they'll never tell Van how to get to Folken's body."

As she slumped there with her head in her arms, the world began spinning very fast. Apparently, sweet ale wasn't conducive to short, intense bursts of energy. Thankful the railing was there to support her, she forced herself to stand up straight so that she wouldn't be overcome by dizziness.

The view was spectacular. It was the park that she had driven by earlier that day with Dryden; she hadn't known that they were so close. Though it was very dark, the city cast both light and shadow over the green expanse, giving it an illusion of wildness that it could not capture in full sunlight. And on all sides, there was the city.

She was hit by a pang of homesickness so palpable it hurt.

_I hate being here,_ she thought._I hate feeling like I have to hide who I am. I want to go home, where I can be myself and not worry about anything but school. I want to take a shower. I want my mom._

While she was thinking, she clutched at her pendant, searching for something familiar to comfort her. It was warm under her hand. It had always been a little warm to the touch, even back on Earth, but her time in Gaea had made the pendant feel perpetually handled, close to body temperature. And her wishes to return home, she noticed, were making it feel almost hot. She took it off and held it in front of her, watching it softly glow.

_I can't go yet. I told Van I'd help him get his brother back. And..._

"I want more time with him," she said out loud. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the anxiety she'd been feeling due to her slip-up earlier began to ebb. Van was waiting for her. No matter what happened, he would be there.

The wind was picking up, and she was suddenly aware of how cold it was. Rubbing her arms to get some warmth back into them, she decided that she'd been gone long enough. If Gian and the others were still there, she would sit down and answer their questions and hope that they weren't the types to form a mob. If they were gone, well, so much the better. She and Van could find a way to get to Folken without them.

"Hitomi Kanzaki?"

A gruff male voice cut into Hitomi's thoughts. Without thinking, she turned around, her pendant balled up in her right hand. And there, illuminated by the lights of the houses and business that lined the street, stood two Zaibach soldiers.

"You are under arrest as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Emperor Dornkirk."

Panic rose in her chest. "W- what?"

"I will not repeat myself. You will cooperate and come with us."

She was literally backed into a corner. Behind her, there was a huge drop. In front of her, there were two large, well-armed soldiers. Her only chance would be to dash to the side and hope that she could outrun them, or at least, outmaneuver them.

"I'm- I'm not from here... you've got the wrong idea, I didn't... someone's waiting for me..."

"Come with us."

She bit her lip, and made a run for it. Her sneakers tore into the dirt as she dashed around the soldiers, counting on her skill as a runner to get away from the soldiers, or at least to get her to Van before they could catch her.

"Stop there!" one of them shouted. Behind her, she could hear the clanking of their boots as they went from dirt to cobblestone.

"Someone, help me!" she yelled, panting as she dashed around small clusters of people. "Someone!"

The crowd was getting thicker as she approached the pub. Slipping nimbly between two conversing men, she heard the soldiers behind her swear almost in unison as they fell afoul of the groups of people that stood scattered along the road.

_Trip over something... twist your ankles... please, just forget about me... someone, help!_

Outside the pub, there was a surprisingly large crowd gathered. Shouts were coming from within, and she could hear the sound of breaking glass. Squaring her shoulders, Hitomi began to try and force her way through the wall of jeering spectators.

"Van!" she screamed. There was no answer, only a loud clanging noise and a roar from the crowd. "Van! Help me! Van!"

She could almost see what was going on, now. There was a flash of a brown glove and the swirl of a black cape lined with purple. The bartender was shouting at them to stop before they broke something else. "Van!"

But as she stuck her hand into the circle, another hand roughly gripped her wrist and wrenched her out onto the street. The soldiers had caught up with her. With another fierce yank, her arm was twisted behind her back, and she lost grip on her pendant. It fell to the cobblestones with a soft clink.

"Let me go!" she yelled, struggling in his grip. "VAN!"

"Be quiet," the shorter soldier hissed, slapping her across the face. A shower of blue and red sparks flew across her vision, and she knew no more.

* * *

A/N - Thanks for waiting on this one. Hope it doesn't feel too rushed.

People who leave reviews are sexy.


	13. Three Figures

Chapter 13 - Three Figures

To be honest, he didn't know what he'd done to the fight got started in the first place. The second Hitomi left, some guy had come up behind him and punched him, and it went on from there. Predictably, Luca retreated as far away from them as possible. Van had gotten the measure of his character as soon as he began deflecting questions about the Sorcerers' more dubious projects. He also wasn't surprised at Gian's willingness to come to his aid in battle, fists raised, but was rather shocked that Viktor joined the fray after the way they'd argued over Folken. But he didn't protest. A helping hand in battle was always key to victory.

He hoped Hitomi wouldn't see him like this. She'd at least be happy that he didn't pull out his sword, though the desire burned strongly within him to teach his attacker a lesson about common courtesy. But with two allies on his side, the fight didn't last long enough for the desire to become an issue. He landed a blow to the man's temple that put him out of service for the rest of the night.

Van shook his hand out as Gian whistled in approval. The man had a surprisingly painful head.

"How uncivilized," Viktor sniffed.

"What was his problem?" Van asked.

Gian and Viktor shrugged. "He might have overheard something," guessed the former.

"No." Van adjusted the baggy piece of cloth he was wearing to cover his shirt and began to right the chairs that had been pushed over in the fight. "Hitomi wasn't being loud. There was too much noise for someone to pick up a word of what she said. Besides, it isn't general knowledge who was with Folken and the Emperor when they died, is it?"

"Luca, get over here, you coward!" Gian called to his brother, who had hidden himself behind the bar.

Slowly, Viktor shook his head. "No. The Sorcerers know, and the higher ups in the army know. All the general citizen knows is that a Draconian flew from the palace moments after the Emperor died."

Van ignored the long, searching look Viktor was giving him and looked around the room. "Where's Hitomi? She should be back by now."

Behind him, the barman was dragging the stranger away, muttering to himself about having to look after idiots who start fights.

"Hitomi?" said Luca. He was now standing next to them, though he still looked quite nervous. "Ah... I thought I heard her calling for you. While you were fighting."

Van stopped righting a chair in mid lift, and it fell to the floor with a noise that made Luca jump. "Where?"

"Outside. I couldn't see her, though, the crowd was too thick- hey, where are you going?"

But Van didn't answer. He pushed through the thick knot of people that was still gathered outside the bar, and scanned the street. If Hitomi was nearby, surely she would have come to him. She would have at least scolded him for fighting. But it appeared she was nowhere in sight.

"Hitomi!" he called. No answer.

"Hitomi!" he called again, more loudly. This drew some stares and titters from people, but there was still no response.

Cursing a little under his breath, he changed his approach and began to scan groups of people. Perhaps someone was hiding her, or preventing her from speaking somehow...

...and then, he saw it. Dangling between the hands of a plump, middle-aged woman, who was exclaiming over it, was Hitomi's pendant, glinting in the evening light. He reacted instantly. Without thinking about it, without considering the consequences, he walked up to her, snatched it out of her hand, and then shoved it so closely to her face that she had to back away in order to avoid being punched in the nose.

"Where did you get this," he growled. The woman quailed, shrinking against the wall, and looked with terrified eyes at her companion.

"Oi!" he exclaimed, a stocky man with a huge, bushy mustache. "Th' hell's your problem?"

At the expression on the woman's face he felt a qualm of regret for what he was doing, but plowed on. "This pendant belongs to someone. How did you get it?"

"I- I- I-" the woman stammered.

"Leave 'er alone! She ain't done anythin' wrong, she just picked it up, didn't she? Hey, are you listenin' to me? I said-" The man put his hand on Van's shoulder.

Van whipped around, and in one smooth motion his sword was drawn and pressed against the man's throat. "Don't," he growled.

"Sorry! Sorry! Don't- it's just, that's my wife there," Van relaxed a fraction of an inch. "You don't have to-"

"Hitomi wouldn't have dropped this. Something happened to her. Where did you get this pendant?"

"Stop!" squealed the woman. Her face was very red. "I found it over there." She pointed to the bar from which Van had just come. "This girl was arrested and she dropped it when the soldiers pulled her out of the crowd, I didn't mean anything by it, please, I just picked it up!"

Van felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. His sword arm dropped to his side, and the man backed away, panting. Hitomi, arrested? After all the precautions they'd taken? He never should have brought her with him. She must have been calling for him to help her, and he didn't come, he didn't answer her. His fault.

He had to do something. Sheathing his sword, he turned towards the couple he'd been harassing, both of whom were clutching each other and as they made sure the other wasn't hurt.

"I'm sorry for my outburst," he said. "Please, can you tell me which way they went?"

"I dunno," said the man. "You were awful rude to us."

Fighting the another burst of temper, Van shut his eyes and counted to three in his head. "I thought... when I saw you with that pendant, I... please, tell me which way they took her. Please."

"Ooooh, I get it," said the woman. "She's your _girl_."

He nodded almost imperceptibly, a slight blush on his cheeks. He felt very silly to succumb to such a childish gesture in front of two people whose lives he'd just threatened, but his blush seemed to soften the woman. She smiled hesitantly at him and squeezed her husband's arm.

"They took her that way," she said, pointing toward the center of the city, where the Emperor's palace dominated the skyline. "Probably to the dungeons, poor thing. Wasn't that long ago, though, you might be able to catch her."

"Thank you," Van said, a little stiffly.

"S'fine. Just check next time before you threaten someone, right? It was _such _a pretty necklace." She waved her hand in a nonchalant sort of way while her husband stared at her incredulously. He had obviously not gotten over the shock of having a very sharp blade pressed against his neck.

Van awkwardly bowed his head at the couple, then turned and headed in the direction that the woman had indicated. He stopped just outside the bar and checked inside, to see Gian, Luca, and Viktor sitting down again, albeit with a very wide berth around them on all sides. He regretted not being able to use their help to find his brother's body, but Hitomi was his priority now. He could always find them again. They would have to understand. And so, placing the pendant around her neck so that it hung next to his heart, he set off without a word into the crowded night.

* * *

Dryden was having a wonderful dream. Millerna was in it, and she was dressed in the most amazing... well, the most amazing _nothing_, and she was smiling at him and saying... and saying...

"Get up."

The deep sound coming from her beautiful mouth confused him, and he stirred in his sleep. Why was she speaking with Van's voice? What could that possibly say about his inner desires? He shuddered to think that he secretly wanted Van of all people...

"Get up. Please."

Opening one eye, Dryden beheld not Millerna, but Van Fanel, standing next to his bed in an absurd poncho, and looking utterly defeated.

"Van? What're you doing here? What time is it?" he struggled to sit up, one hand searching for his glasses.

"A little after sunrise."

"What is it? I was having the most- well, I was dreaming."

"They've arrested Hitomi. I don't know where she is."

He finally sat up, and looking at Van, his expression somewhere between annoyance, exasperation, and alarm, he said, "They? Do you mean Zaibach?"

"Who do you think I mean?" Van snapped, a little of the usual fire returning to his voice. Then, surprised at his own tone, he looked away from Dryden. "I need your help."

"Of course you need my help! What the hell were you thinking, going after her on your own. Are you stupid?" He stood up and began pulling on his clothes.

"I had to do something!" Van yelled back. "I couldn't just let them take her away!"

"So did you end up finding them?" He was tying up his hair. In the mirror, he saw Van deflate, his shoulders sinking and eyes lowering to the floor, though his fists remained clenched at his sides.

"No."

He was like a damn soap bubble, rising and falling at the slightest provocation. Trying hard not to roll his eyes, Dryden reminded himself to be careful or he'd cause the kid to burst. "And what did the guards around the dungeon say?"

"They said they hadn't seen her."

"That's right. Something's up. We're not at war anymore, why would Zaibach arrest Hitomi? Besides, the Regent knows that you two are here, despite my best efforts to leave you behind. Why didn't you just wait until you saw the Regent yourself before you went blundering around? You could have gone with me, I'm seeing him this afternoon."

Van's head snapped up and he stared at Dryden. "You have an appointment with the Regent?"

"Of course I do. I have to get paid, don't I? And as a visiting dignitary, it's only natural to have my payment presented by the Regent himself."

As if he were moving in slow motion, Van sank onto Dryden's bed. "You never told us."

He turned to Van, eyebrows raised. "I would have thought it was obvious."

"Then there wasn't a reason to..." he lapsed into silence, his elbows resting on his knees while he stared into empty space.

Dryden had an inkling feeling that he was about to learn something extremely disheartening. "What?"

"I didn't trust the Regent. We went out to get information on where they keep bodies, in case he never got back to me. I could have just gone with you. Now, Hitomi..." he went quiet again. "I shouldn't have let her come."

Dryden cringed. Of course they would go out and do something stupid like that. But looking at the miserable expression on Van's face, which was usually so closed-off to people who weren't named Hitomi, prevented Dryden from obeying his instincts and saying exactly what he thought of such an idiotic decision. He frowned a little, ran his hand through his hair, and let a puff of air out through his mouth before speaking.

"Hey," he said. "Hey, I should have told you. You can't read minds, and you said you wanted to get Folken's body back. It's partly my fault, I guess."

Van shrugged and said nothing.

"Okay. Here's what we're going to do. If Hitomi's been arrested, the Regent will know about it, since it'll be such a high-profile case. We'll talk to him this afternoon. I don't think he wants to cause anymore trouble for Zaibach."

Van muttered something indistinct, and Dryden pressed on. "In the meantime, I'm going to ask Gaddes to put his feelers out and see what he can find. And you're going to get some sleep."

"What?" Van sat up straight, indignant. "Hitomi's in danger! How can I sleep?!"

"Van. There isn't anything we can do right now. You know that. We're not at war with Zaibach anymore. We can't just burst in there, swords swinging, and expect to get away with it. It'd make _both_ our countries look bad."

Van gritted his teeth and said nothing.

"And frankly, you look like shit. Get some sleep or you won't be coherent when we see the Regent. I'll take care of things while you rest."

"Are you sure?"

This time, Dryden did roll his eyes. "Sure I'm sure. I'm a magnanimous guy, you know that. Now get to bed."

Getting to his feet a little unsteadily, Van leveled his gaze at Dryden. Then, he stuck out his hand, and rested it on the other man's shoulder.

"Thank you," he said.

Dryden coughed uncomfortably. "Think nothing of it. I don't like Hitomi as much as you do, but she's still a good kid."

Van dropped his hand to his side and nodded. Then, still moving as if he were walking through water, he left Dryden's large bedroom and walked toward his own.

Once the boy was gone, Dryden sat back down on his bed and frowned, thinking hard. It didn't make sense for them to be arresting Hitomi, now that the war was over. The Emperor who had wanted her for her abilities was dead, and the current Regent, as a military man in the midst of rebuilding his country, could have no use for her. But if Van said that she was arrested, he was probably right. Those Zaibach uniforms were hard to mistake, even at night.

But why? Was the Regent counting on Van to be willing to negotiate anything away for Hitomi's return? Immediately, Dryden shook his head, dismissing the thought. There was no way they had the slightest inkling of the nature of their relationship. And they couldn't have arrested her as an accessory to the assassination; they already had their scapegoat in the form of Folken. So it had to be something else. Something he wasn't seeing. But no matter what way he looked at it, he couldn't come up with a reason why they would arrest Hitomi. And that was what worried him the most.

_Give me strength, Jichia. What the hell is Zaibach thinking?_

Across the ship, in his own little room, Van laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling, and did not sleep.

* * *

Though she'd only been working at market for two days, Merle was beginning to enjoy the ritual of it; the flow of setup, the rush of midday and evening traffic, and the ebb of taking down shop with Eiru and his group. Rhum would tell stories and his men would bark with laughter at the end of every punchline. Merle would giggle and grin and joke with the rest of them until she realized she was having a good time without Van. Then she would shift, retreat into herself, and decline the night's invitation to go to the bar. She'd have dinner at the palace, where Millerna kept insisting she was always welcome, but that didn't change the disdainful looks shot at her by palace officials and workers alike as she sat for evening meal. That was what she needed to make sure she didn't enjoy herself. And when she curled into Hitomi's bed at night (her room just seemed so big and empty now), she wore her loneliness like a crown.

But even that feeling shrank when she wasn't looking. Eiru's two daughters, whom he had adopted when their mother, his lover, died in the war, couldn't be counted on to help with the selling. They were far too young to convince the fine lords and ladies of Palas that their greens would look so much greener in Fanelian colors. They always helped with setting up and packing at the end of the day, but that was all they were allowed to do. And so selling was the mantle Merle took up on Eiru's behalf. She was surprisingly good at it.

When people in faded clothes walked by, she knew just what to say to make them come and give their bottles of dye a look. She knew how to flatter people in a tone of voice just hesitant enough that people took her at her word and bought from her what they may have bought elsewhere. The thing was that she knew what people wanted before they wanted it. And she was very good at convincing them that she was right.

"What? Don't go with that one. This red would be way better. See how nice it looks with your hair?"

This was her favorite part of the deal, when she was on the verge of closing the sale. The woman she was speaking with was certainly attracted to the vivid scarlet contained in the sample, and Merle was sure she could talk her into getting enough dye for several summer dresses. The woman hemmed and hawed and was reaching into her purse to pull out her payment, when the entire transaction was interrupted by once Celena Schezar.

"Merle! Hi!" she said, bubbly and cheerful. "What are you doing? Oh, I like those colors. You should get a blue one; blue is so pretty."

As a case in point, she was wearing a spectacularly blue dress, one which looked as if it were made for her. It was simply cut, with the puffed sleeves that were for some reason the height of Asturian fashion, but with much less lace than Merle was used to seeing on the usual passer-by. Merle guessed that her wardrobe was finally trickling in.

"Celena. Hi. Wait a 'sec, I'm doing something right now. So it'll be two jars of the red?"

"I think I'll get blue instead. Ellis likes blue so much."

"Yeah!" Celena enthusiastically opined. "Blue is the best."

Merle smiled through her teeth and grabbed one of the two jars of blue dye that her customer had indicated. Damnit, they needed to sell more red, there was a surplus of it, and the blue was going too fast.

"How about one blue and one red? You have a lot more options that way."

"Hm, I don't know..."

"Oh, come on Merle, just give her what she wants. I have something to talk to you about."

"Would you wait? She wanted red before you came butting in."

"I... I think I'll come back later," the woman said, backing away.

"No! Wait! You wanted-"

"I need to talk to my husband first, if you'll excuse me," and with that, she lifted her skirts and walked away as quickly as her daintily-shod feet could carry her.

"Celena," Merle groaned. "You just ruined a sale! Do you have a problem shutting your mouth?"

"Oh, don't be like that. Here, I'll get what she was going to get, I have loads of pocket money."

"She was going to get the red dye before you cut in. Two jars."

"Then we'll have red tablecloths," Celena primly replied, and handed over the money. Merle had to admit that she was more than making up for her lack of propriety. Still, having a sale interrupted rankled her, and she slammed the jars of red dye on the table with more than a little rancor.

"Here. Thanks."

Her tail whipped back and forth behind her and she bit the money to test for trueness before she deposited it in the till, something she would not have done in front of any other customer for anything. Celena, however, did not notice the insult and looked on at Merle with a huge smile on her face, much to Merle's annoyance.

"What is it?"

"We-ell, um, I wanted to tell Hitomi something. Do you know where she is?"

Merle was thoroughly annoyed now. "She's in Zaibach."

"Oh," Celena's face fell. She toyed with the tablecloth in front of her for a moment, and then looked up at Merle, who was busying herself tidying so she wouldn't have to look at Celena. How dare she come in and interrupt sale? It wasn't even important! And she was having such a good day so far.

"If I tell you something, can you tell her?"

Merle snorted. This was not an answer, as anyone who knew her would say, but Celena, like Merle, was one of the happy few that wasn't overly gifted with particular consideration for other's feelings, and so went ahead with her message.

"Tell Hitomi thanks for her help the other day, and that she was really easy to talk to, and tell her that I have a present for her. Oh, and that I took her advice."

Merle's ears perked up at that. She might not like Celena much, but Hitomi giving advice? Oh, she had to hear this. "What kind of advice?"

"She'll know what I'm talking about!" Celena replied airily.

"Hm, I don't know. She's been gone a few days already and she'll probably have forgotten. Can't you give me a few more details?"

"Nope!" Celena laughed. "I'd better get back to brother anyway. D'you see him?" she pointed a few stalls down, to where he was talking softly with what appeared to be Princess Eries. Her back was to them, so it could have been any woman with bone straight, pale blond hair, but Merle was sure that no one else would wear a hat and earcuffs like that.

"I thought I should leave them alone," Celena confided. "I like Eries; she never giggles when she's around brother like everyone else."

"Hmmmmm," Merle leaned against the table, her head propped up on her arm. She hadn't forgotten what Eries had said to her the other day, about unrequited love. And Merle was certainly perceptive enough to know exactly who Eries' mysterious unrequited love was (though she had suspicions in Folken's direction as well, judging from the princess' less-than-controlled reaction to the news of his death at tea the other day).

_Well, well. Let's just hope that Allen isn't as stupid as he looks,_ Merle thought.

"Good girl," she said. Celena smiled widely.

With a clatter, a carriage pulled up. This was unusual for two reasons. The first was that carriage traffic was banned on the market street, even during the slower points of the day. The second was that the carriage was stamped with the royal seal, and as Eries and Allen looked up at it, surprised, it was obviously unexpected.

"Allen! Merle!" Millerna burst out from inside, her hair windswept and unkempt. "It's Hitomi! I just got word from Dryden."

"Hitomi?" she heard Allen exclaim. "What's going on?"

"What about Hitomi!?" Merle said, her fist clenched. "Did she leave?"

"No, it's... she's gone. Zaibach arrested her."

"What?" Merle's hand jumped to her mouth, and a mix between guilt and fear shot through her like a javelin.

"Zaibach?" Eries said, looking confused. "But that doesn't make sense."

"No! Oh, no!" Celena said, her face white. She ran over to her brother, whose face mirrored hers, and gripped his arm as he stood there, speechless.

Millerna shook her head. "It's what they said. Come on, I need you back at the palace. If they've arrested her, we've got to do something. Merle, are you coming?"

Slowly, Merle shook her head. "I can't. I have to watch the stall."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll be there later, so you'd better not go to bed early!" she yelled, shaking her fist at them. "Tell me everything when I get there!"

Millerna nodded. Quickly, the entire group filed into the carriage, and it took off towards the palace with a loud snapping of reins.

Finally alone, Merle sat down and clutched at her skirt. How could Hitomi let herself get arrested in Zaibach? After she promised to take Van back safe? What if she... what if... she never came back?

She bit her lip. If Hitomi never came back, Van would be...

_He would be devastated_, Merle chided herself. _And so would you. You love Hitomi._

And it was true. She did love Hitomi. The feeling had sort of snuck up on her in between her bouts of being jealous of and making fun of the girl, but she loved her. No one else could offer her the comfort she needed when Van was in danger. No one else understood.

"I should have gone with them," she groaned.

And if Hitomi never came back, she knew she would hate herself forever. But for now, she had to tend to what was in front of her.

* * *

The first thing Hitomi was aware of was a voice. It was deep and low, almost whispery, and it snaked under the door and through the walls like smoke. It was hard to make out what it was saying, through the haze in her head, but she was able to catch a few words of such power that they forced her to wake completely.

"...going well. Time is... harvest his wings... she is still sleeping, but not for much longer, I think. King Fanel doesn't know and I'd like to keep it that way, so hold your tongues for another few days. I trust that I have paid you enough for your silence."

She sat up straight. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being pulled out of the bar and then a sharp pain and then... a dream of rattling and yelling. Someone calling for her, but she couldn't reply. Van.

There was another indistinct rush of voices which was cut off by the man whose words had so caught her attention.

"I will not need more of your services tonight. Keep silent, and I may employ you in the future. We are always in need of more subjects. You are dismissed."

Subjects? What did he mean? And why was his voice so familiar? There was the sound of heavy boots on carpet and then floor, and then the distant sound of a door opening and shutting. Whatever was going on, she was now alone with her kidnapper. Pulling her knees to her chest, she looked around the room and tried to control her building fear. What mattered now was that she take note of her surroundings; find a way out.

Instead of the cell she was expecting, she was in what looked like a bedroom, maybe a guest bedroom in a large house. The bed she was on was one of the largest she'd seen since the palace in Asturia. On the wall to the right of her bed, there was a large window that made her heart leap on first glance, but sink on the second as it seemed to be on the second floor. Still, the fact that there was a window at all gave her at least one escape route if the chance presented itself. There was a writing desk under the window as well, and what looked like a fountain pen next to a bottle of ink and a sheaf of paper. A few chairs stood at artistic angles throughout the room, and there were paintings on the wall.

Paintings. Curious, Hitomi got to her feet. Hanging near the door of the room (which was firmly locked, no matter how hard she jiggled the handle), was a sketch of a man in a long black cowl, flanked by two similarly dressed figures on either side. She'd seen the same thing on Folken, before he left Zaibach, and on Victor and Luca the night before. A Sorcerer. So she was in the home of a Sorcerer.

The man on the left had short hair and a pointed, white beard. On the right, was a younger man with shoulder length dark hair and a sort of knowing smile on his face. And the man in the middle had a long nose, glasses, and a completely shaved head.

"Paruchi," she whispered, and heard a key click in the lock to her room.


	14. Every Light

Chapter 14 - Every Light

Between Gaea and Earth, there is a dimensional rift. It acts rather like a two-way mirror in some respects. From Gaea, Earth and its moon are clearly visible, but from Earth all that can be seen is a reflection of empty space beyond Gaea. And like a two-way mirror, the rift is double-paned. And in-between the panes, the Ispano dwell. They can see both sides.

Little is known of them. On Earth, they are virtually unknown, save for whispers in rural places of lights in the sky and dragons in the clouds. On Gaea, they are highly sought-after for their Guymelefs, which are sought far and wide for their artistry, their utility, and their intimidation on the field of battle. There are very few Ispano Guymelefs left on Gaea, relics of a bygone age, and they are often obtained at very high cost. Whether the cost in question is monetary or otherwise is always up for negotiation. The Ispano are always willing to make deals. And they do not always make Guymelefs.

* * *

"Who's there?" Hitomi called out as the doorknob to her room turned.

She backed up against the bed and quickly looked around the room, trying to find something to defend herself with if it came down to that. She spotted a likely-looking oil lamp, but before she could get to it, the door swung open completely to reveal a very tall man bearing a tea tray, laden with food.

"I hope that I did not disturb you," he said, shutting the door behind him. He set the tray down on the writing desk near the door and then turned, locking the it.

"Paruchi," she said. "You're the man I met in the bar."

He dropped the key in his pocket. "I am pleased you remember my name, Hitomi Kanzaki."

The night before, he had been polite to her. He'd bought her a drink to apologize for his rudeness in interrupting her, and did not comment on Van's behavior. So he was a Sorcerer.

"Are you hungry?" he continued. "I had Minda prepare something for you."

"No," she said, defiantly. Her stomach growled loudly, and he smiled.

"Then I will leave this here, in case you become hungry later. There is also a chamber pot under the bed, which you may use as needed, and a basin of water in the closet, where you may wash."

She shook her head, finding it hard to care about the amenities of her prison. "Last night, some soldiers were arresting me. Why am I here and not in some dungeon?"

Paruchi laughed. It loud and from the diaphragm, and it echoed through the room, confusing Hitomi. Why was he laughing at her situation? What was going on?

His laughter died down, and he looked at her as she stood there, guarded and confused. "You are here because I wanted you here, Girl from the Mystic Moon."

Hitomi stiffened. "But I... how did you...?"

"Your shoes. There really is nothing like them on Gaea."

"Oh," she said, sinking down onto the bed.

How could they have overlooked her such a trivial detail? Her bright white sneakers would have been very visible, even in the darkness of the pub. What a stupid reason to get caught! Feeling lost, she reached up to her neck to clutch at her pendant, but ended up grasping at nothing. She gasped involuntarily. How had she not noticed it was gone before? The familiar weight of it was completely missing from around her neck. Her grandmother's pendant...

"Is something wrong?"

She snapped out of it, and shook her head again. He didn't need to know about her pendant.

"No. Nothing. Wait, actually, there is something wrong. Why did you kidnap me?"

But Paruchi shook is gleaming head and smiled, as if he were interacting with a child. "The business of the Sorcerers would be far too complicated for you to understand. Instead, please enjoy your days with me, while you have them. You will be returned to King Fanel when I am finished with you. Now, please eat something. Your food is getting cold."

Once he finished speaking, he turned his back on her, apparently preparing to leave. As he was fishing in his pocket for the key, however, Hitomi had a flash of insight, recalling the conversation that she'd had with Van the previous night, and the snippets of words that had wafted through her consciousness as she struggled to wake.

She clenched her fists, furrowed her eyebrows, and steeled herself, and with as much force as she could muster, said, "You're keeping me here so you can get your hands on Folken's body. That's it, isn't it?"

Paruchi froze, his hand halfway to the doorknob. Then, slowly, without turning to face her, he lowered it to his side and straightened up.

"Well, you're not going to get it, even if you keep me here. Van will find me, and then we'll talk to the Regent, and you won't have anything!"

Her voice sounded hollow, even to her.

"King Fanel must leave for Asturia in two days, as you well know," Paruchi said, turning back around to face her. "After that, the Regent will have no use for my former colleague's body. And no further use for King Fanel."

Hitomi but her lip and frowned. How did he know that they had to be back for the upcoming summit? "What do you mean by that?"

"That does not matter." He turned from her and put his hand on the doorknob. Then, as an afterthought, added, "I will be back for you at nightfall. Eat your breakfast; it would do neither of us any good if you fainted here."

"You can't just keep me locked up here and not tell me what's going on!"

As he closed the door behind him, Paruchi said, "I believe that is what I am doing. Good day."

"Stop! Come back here!"

Hitomi grabbed the knob as he locked the door and tried to pull it open, but his grip on the handle was firmer than her own. When the tumblers clicked into place, she changed tactics and began and hammering away at the door until his footsteps faded into silence. She swore, and kicked the door frame very hard, which didn't accomplish anything but jamming her big toe.

Hopping on one foot, she made her way over to the bed and collapsed on the soft comforter. She took off her shoe and inspected the toe, which was slightly pink. It wouldn't hurt for long. She frowned at it and then kicked off her other shoe, which flew across the room and hit the wall with a loud thud.

"This is so stupid!" she shouted at the room.

Angry tears began to blur her vision at the thought of her missing pendant, her situation, and her separation from Van when she'd promised to spend what little time left she had on Gaea with him. No, not promised, she corrected herself. Wanted. Worst of all was what else her captivity was going to cost. Now that she was missing, Van would have to choose between her, his brother's body, and his country's future. And she was knew for a fact that he would choose her, in the end.

The guilt it created was a feeling that she didn't much like.

* * *

"Hey. Yer Highness. Wake up."

Van stirred in his shallow sleep and opened his eyes to Gaddes, who was standing before him with his arms folded across his chest and a morose expression on his face.

He sat up. "Gaddes. What is it?"

Gaddes scratched his chin and looked out the window as he spoke. "Dryden says that he's going to leave to see the Regent soon. Told me to wake you up."

"Thanks, Gaddes," he swung his leg over the side of the bed and began to pull on his boots. "Did you find anything out about Hitomi?"

Slowly, Gaddes shook his head. "It's weird. No one knows anything about her. Every soldier I talked to either told me to screw off or go back to Asturia, though, so their information probably isn't too good."

"It's too soon after the war for this."

Van stood up and ran his hand through his hair. He could tell that it was messy, but he wasn't in the mood to do anything about it. With this unwelcome news about Hitomi, he couldn't see a point.

Gaddes sighed and cocked his head at Van, frowning a little. "Yeah, but it's just that _no one_ knows anything about her. At all. Not even the crooked bailiffs down at the dungeons. I mean, there are witnesses to the whole thing, but it's weird. Like she didn't get arrested at all."

"Or she's a high-level prisoner," Van replied. His brow darkened and he pushed past Gaddes and into the corridor. "Come on, let's go find Dryden. Once we talk to the Regent, everything will be clear. I promise you that."

Following behind him, Gaddes said, "I hope you're right."

Dryden was in his study, as usual, getting a few papers together at the behest of Mr. Rat, who was so nervous that the young master was off to meet the Regent and former General of the Zaibach Empire that he was close to having a stroke. They convened for a few moments there, speaking of what they could expect from their visit to the Regent, but did not linger for very long. Leaving Gaddes in charge as usual, they boarded their cab and set off for the central structure in Zaibach.

There was some debate, even in the capital, over whether or not the huge, bock-like structure in the middle of the city was a palace. It was often referred to as the palace in conversation among all the social classes, but the fact remained that it was less of a palace and more of a huge complex of laboratories. Some of the more high-ranking Sorcerers even called it the Lab when speaking to each other. However, it also served as the seat of Zaibach's government as well as its military headquarters and central power supply, so calling it a lab was as limiting as calling it a palace. It certainly wasn't a castle, and had never been built along those lines to begin with. It was what it was - the seat of all government, innovation, and power in the Zaibach Empire. The beating heart which was now without that which once made it move.

The once spacious, ornate throne room that had served as Adelphos Gein's office was now transformed into a cramped and chaotic center of operations for the defeated Empire. Already, overstuffed bookshelves lined the walls and every spare chair save for the two in front of his desk was covered in scrolls, books, and extra ink pots. Van's first thought when he saw it was that of disapproval. How could a government be efficiently run in such a mess? Though he was not a meticulously neat person by any means, he could not see himself ever getting anything done constantly surrounded by such clutter, and ached to say something about it. But he held his tongue in the presence of his former enemy.

The Regent was sitting hunched over his large, wooden desk and adding his signature to documents. Gone was the armor that Van had come to expect from a soldier of his rank; instead, he was adorned in a long red set of robes trimmed with gold thread and tied with a scarlet sash, which parted there to reveal a surprisingly plain set of brown trousers and heavy, polished boots. His head was uncovered and his short, graying hair was messy over his prematurely lined face.

"Regent Adelphos," Dryden said, sticking his various folders under his arm and approaching the desk as Van trailed silently behind him.

"Prince Regent Dryden," Adelphos responded without looking up. "Give me a miet, I'm finishing something up."

Van was surprised by the informality of his speech. Even the roughest samurai of Fanelia spoke respectfully to their guests. To treat royalty in such a way was akin to an insult. He glanced at Dryden, expecting to see a mirrored sense of incredulity, but the merchant seemed unruffled as always.

"I've brought King Fanel with me. I trust you received my message?"

"Yes, and his. Sit down, please. Sorry about the mess," he said in clipped tones as he set his paper aside, turned the next sheet over, and began writing something else, the silver tip of his pen flashing in the artificial light.

Without a second thought, Dryden sat down and arranged his folders in his lap. He seemed content to wait there until Adelphos finished whatever it was he was doing, but Van was completely appalled by the Regent's lack of diplomacy, even if they had been at war not even a week ago. The small voice in his head that resembled Hitomi's told him that he was just looking for an excuse to dislike the man, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and sat down, not bothering to disguise the a disapproving frown etched firmly on his face.

After a few more seconds of writing, Adelphos put his pen down, picked up the paper in front of him, and blew on it to dry the ink. Then, satisfied, he stuck it under a piece of blotter paper and turned to his guests.

"You have the payment details?" he asked Dryden, making no apology for keeping them waiting.

Apparently expecting this, Dryden passed the folders he was carrying across to the Regent, who took them, opened them, and glanced over their contents. "You're not done with deliveries yet. You'll be here two more days?"

"Yes, and then I'm afraid we'll have to attend a political summit to discuss what we're going to to with you now that the war's over. Frankly I find the business a bit morbid."

Adelphos closed the folders and threw them on the desk in front of him. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest, frowning hard enough to rival Van's scowl. Then, looking directly at Van, he said, "For some people, utter ruin isn't enough."

The familiar rage surged within him. How did that man dare to speak of ruin when his country was responsible for the destruction of Fanelia?

_But his Zaibach is ruined as well_, Hitomi's voice reminded him. _You have to realize that you aren't the only person in the world to ever suffer. He believes in his country, too._

With effort, Van suppressed his outrage. Now wasn't the time to go off on a tirade about who had suffered the most injustice. Hitomi would tell him that, if she were there.

"We've both seen what war does," he said, returning the Regent's gaze. "It does enough."

A pleased look passed over the Regent's face. "That's right. And now we're both stuck trying to breathe life into our countries with broken bellows and the rest of those Alliance bastards want to take even that away from us."

_He's casting us in the same mold_, Van thought. _He wants something from me_.

Van noticed something else as well. So far, he hadn't mentioned Hitomi at all.

After a brief silence, Adelphos reached into the pocket of his robes and removed a medium-sized pouch of money and passed it to Dryden.

"Thank you for the medical supplies. I trust you'll find that all the money's there."

"I trust I will," Dryden replied, without weighing it. "And now that our business is taken care of, I have something else I'd like to discuss with you. It seems that one of our companions has been arrested by your soldiers."

"Then he probably shouldn't have made an ass of himself. What is it, drunken behavior? A lot of foreigners get hauled in over that."

"You mean, you don't know?" Van said.

"I don't keep tabs on every small arrest in the capital. It's a big place."

"It's Hitomi. The Girl from the Mystic Moon."

There was a short pause as Adelphos stared at them, frowning. Van felt his stomach go numb. He didn't know. Oh Gods, he really didn't know.

"I've issued no orders for her arrest. You must be mistaken."

Van made an angry noise in his throat, and then said, "It was one of your citizens who told me! I doubt that they'd mistake the uniform of their own country's military."

"All of our sources agree that she was carried off by two soldiers who made no secret that they were arresting her," Dryden explained, hastily cutting in after Van's outburst.

"She isn't in our dungeons," he replied. "I inspected them this morning. I'll take you on a personal inspection of the dungeons if you don't believe me."

"If you don't have her, then who does?" Van asked.

Adelphos thought for a moment. "Mercenaries, or the man who hired them. Impersonating a soldier is punishable by death but that doesn't stop those who can afford to pay for it."

"So it'll be someone rich," Dryden said, scratching his chin. "Someone high up in the military. A noble."

"Or a Sorcerer."

There was a long moment of silence as they sat and considered the implication of this. If someone wealthy had hired a mercenary to kidnap Hitomi, what could they have wanted her for? What kind of danger was she in now? What if they wouldn't find her before time required them to leave?

"I'll send out a few of my men to search the city," Adelphos said in a deep, slow voice. "It's all we can do for now. But in the meantime, King Fanel, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you. Alone, if you don't mind, Prince Regent."

Nonplussed, Dryden stood up. "I was just going to excuse myself, anyway. Pleasure doing business with you, Regent."

"And you."

"Van. Take care."

He didn't miss the pointed tone of Dryden's comment. It annoyed him that someone who wasn't raised to rule was giving him advice, but he didn't say anything back. The man had gone out of his way to help him, and if there was anything Van respected, it was one person's willingness to help another.

Dryden shut the door behind them, and the two rulers regarded each other, one calculating, and one on guard.

"It's... regrettable what happened to Fanelia. Dilandau was one of my men, but that monster couldn't be controlled. He belonged to the Sorcerers."

Van folded his arms across his chest. "I didn't come here to hear your apologies for burning my country to the ground. You know why I'm here."

There was a beat, and then, "I'll get to the point. You're here for your brother's body."

Van nodded. "Can you give him to me?"

Steepling his fingers, Adelphos regarded Van. "If you've come this far, you must know that I have a price."

He was right. Van knew that it would come to this, and he was quite prepared to negotiate. But Hitomi kept wafting in and out of his thoughts, distorting his mental clarity.

Knowing that it would disadvantage him, Van said, "Will you promise to leave Hitomi out of this?"

The wrinkles on Adlephos' brow deepened. "She will have nothing to do with what passes between us here. This is an agreement between two nations of Gaea, and she isn't of Gaea. You have my word."

A bit of the tension eased from Van's shoulders, but he did not relax entirely. Adelphos still held all the cards.

"Then I'll hear your terms."

* * *

Hitomi was glad that she'd eaten the various meals proffered to her by the household staff at the end of the day. So far, Paruchi had drug her across so many corridors that she felt like they were denizens of some vast and unending labyrinth. Already, she was feeling tired out, and she had been sure to eat all of her food, as she always did. Being a runner, she had a good appetite.

They had been walking in silence for a while, as Paruchi was irritated with her for trying to escape so many times. The mercenary he hired to guard her was sporting a red mark to the face where Hitomi had slapped him, but otherwise he remained stoic and watchful. He wasn't about to give her room to escape again. The main reason they were silent, however, was because they had placed a gag over her mouth and tied her hands together after her third escape attempt.

And in the silence, after drawing a blank most of the day, she began to get wisps of Van's feelings. She was pleased she was able to do this without her pendant somehow, but he was tense and worried, and it made her heart ache for him. She wondered if he was able to feel her emotions as well.

Making a mental note to ask him about it when they saw each other again, she angrily thought, _Because we_will _see each other again._

Finally, they came to a halt outside a silver door with ornate designs on the trim. Paruchi pulled a heavy keyring from one of his inner pockets. Then, he selected a heavy key that was carved with the same kind of symbols that were on the door and slid it into the lock, which opened with a soft click. The guard gave her a shove and she stepped through the doorway after Paruchi, then closed the door behind her, stationing himself outside. For the second time, Hitomi and the Sorcerer were alone together.

He pulled off her gag, put it in his pocket, and said, "The door is reinforced. The guard can be counted on to use brutal force if you manage to open it. Do not try escaping again. I am going to remove your bonds. Hold still."

While he was working at undoing the knots that he'd so angrily tied earlier, Hitomi examined the room they were in. There were no windows. The entire left wall was taken up by a long counter, on which sat a great deal of what looked to her like antique chemistry equipment. There was also a shelf full of books written in a language Hitomi couldn't read and a tall set of closed cabinets. A heavy-looking chair sat near the desk. The shackles on either arm made it look like an instrument of torture. But what interested her the most was the door.

On the opposite wall, there was what looked like a prison door. The bottom half was very solid iron, and the top half was made up of thick iron bars through which Hitomi could see thick shadows.

_Is there something in there?_ she thought, rubbing her newly freed wrists. _I feel like I can sense something..._

"Sit," he said, indicating the morbid-looking chair. She did so, glancing surreptitiously at the door all the while.

"Is there... someone in there?"

"It's sedated right now. It shouldn't offer any problems," Paruchi replied. He was rummaging through the cabinet as he spoke, and did not look at her.

_It?_ she thought. What was in there? An animal of some kind? Perhaps something that the Sorcerers had modified? She hated to think what could be back there, hidden in the shadows.

"Roll up your sleeve, please."

Hitomi up to see that Paruchi was carrying a short rope in one hand and a long syringe in the other.

Frowning, she asked, "Why? My blood's the same as yours."

"We shall see. Roll up your sleeve, please."

Though she didn't like it, she obeyed, first taking off the robe she was still wearing over her school clothes, and then unbuttoning the sleeve of her blouse and rolling it up past her elbow.

"Thank you. This will only take a few moments."

"Wait! Aren't you going to sterilize it first?"

"Sterilize?" Paruchi responded, his expression quizzical, but interested.

Seeing the look on his face, Hitomi cringed. She should have known from the state of the medical camps that things like germs weren't well understood yet.

"Never mind."

Truth be told, the needle didn't hurt much. Paruchi seemed to be quite experienced at drawing blood. After it was over, he stood up with his full phial and held it up to the light.

"Good," he said. "Good. Wait here. Do not touch anything; I will be back shortly."

She glared at his retreating back as the door closed behind him. Then, holding the small strip of cloth he'd given her to stop the bleeding, she stood up, thankful at least that he hadn't shackled her to the chair, as she expected him to. Unlike most of the people she'd met on Gaea, she couldn't sense much good in him at all.

There was a cough behind her. Whipping around, she saw something moving in the shadows of the prison door.

"Who's there?" she called out.

There was another cough, and then a shuffling sound as something... no, someone, she corrected herself, grabbed the bars on the prison door.

"Estreral. Ispano. Not run."

"Ispano?"

She almost dropped her cloth in shock._This_ was what Paruchi meant by 'it?' The rest of the Ispano was still hidden in darkness, but his hand was dark green and clawed at the tip. She immediately recalled the night that they had summoned the Ispano to fix Escaflowne. Then, they were all completely covered. Even their faces were covered with light brown leather and huge glasses, some with one lens and others with more lenses than would be needed if the Ispano had only two eyes.

"What is name?" the Ispano asked.

"Hitomi. Hitomi Kanzaki."

"Girl from Mystic Moon. Estreral remembers."

"You were there when Van... when Escafowne was repaired?"

His face was still hidden in shadow, but she could see more of his arm now as she grew accustomed to the dim light. His skin was smooth, but not like a human's. Almost more like snake, or a lizard, but lacking scales.

"There with clan," he agreed.

"How did you get here?"

"Come to assess damage on big machine, Ispano sell to Dornkirk long ago. Life machine, very expensive. Sorcerer catch, drug, imprison," he said, but then dissolved into a fit of coughing.

Pity bloomed in the center of her chest. She took the cloth she was using to staunch her blood and offered it to the Ispano.

"Here, use this. I'm sorry it's a little bloody. It's all I've got at the moment."

She pressed it into his outstretched hand and he pulled it into the darkness. There was a pause in their conversation as he coughed wetly into the cloth.

"Are you okay?" she called out, tentatively. He sounded really bad, like he'd been sick for a long time. What had Paruchi done to him?

"You, Hitomi Kanzaki," he spoke up suddenly, startling her. "Like light. Small light but bright, very strong. You help Estreral get out."

She bit her lip. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you right now. Paruchi is keeping me prisoner, too. Not that I don't want to!" she clarified, shaking her head. "But... it'll be a little while. Do you think you could hold on for a few more days? Until I escape?"

"Estreral will wait," the Ispano agreed. "Not tell Sorcerer. Keep secret."

"I won't," she promised. "I'm sorry I can't do more for you right now."

"Not worry. Every light matter."

The Ispano... no, Estreral handed the strip of cloth back to Hitomi. His blood stood out on the cloth, mingling with her own. It was blue, like a dragon's.

"Thank you," she said, stowing it away in her bra in order to keep it away from Paruchi. It warm and wet against her skin. "I promise I'll come find you. Van and I will get you home."

"Estreral will wait," he repeated. Then, he retreated into the shadows, and was silent.

True to her word, Hitomi didn't say anything to Paruchi when he returned to her. In fact, she stayed so quiet and complacent that Paruchi asked if he had taken too much blood, and ordered Minda to bring Hitomi a large dinner and a piece of cake in order to get her strength back up for tomorrow, when he would be taking more blood to analyze. The health of his subjects was very important to him, he said, while patting her hand.

And as she lay awake that night, she knew what she was going to have to do.


	15. All That's Said and Done

Chapter 15 - All That's Said and Done

The midmorning sun cast a delicate light on the pink flowers that Allen's mother had planted around the estate so many years ago, turning them translucent. He was pleased that Celena had liked them so much. They looked positively charming on the great table in the dining hall, and in the vase in the kitchen, and in all the bathrooms, and on each table in the sitting room... well, Allen didn't have it in his heart yet to tell his sister that there was such a thing as overkill. If she was happy, he was happy. He would simply have to get used to having as many flowers inside as out.

Celena was in her first session with an Alarite, one of the followers of the Freidian goddess of compassion that had been recommended to him by Eries and Hitomi. The woman the Alarites had sent to speak with Celena was adorned in white, with a thin shawl covering her dark hair and a soft smile on her face. She quietly informed Allen that her name was Sati, and that he would have to give them privacy. After he reluctantly agreed, she asked Celena which room in the house was her favorite. They retired to the parlor, and Allen was exiled elsewhere. He had chosen to walk the grounds.

He wished he could be there with her. Especially after last night.

Sometime after midnight, he had been awakened from a dreamless sleep by his sister's screaming. This was a feat, considering that his bedroom was on the other side of the house. He grabbed his sword instinctively and dashed the length of the manor, swearing that whoever was making her scream like that would be dead before he knew what was behind him. As he approached her door, however, Hill and Cook anxiously clutching each other as they stood listening, it became apparent that her screams were of a different quality than he had first thought. It was simply one, long, unbroken scream, the kind one usually heard from a frightened child or the victim of a night terror.

"Celena!?" he called out, hoping she could hear his voice above her own. "Celena, what's wrong!?"

But the only answer she got was a strangled sob, and then a long moaning cry as she broke down into tears.

"Celena, I'm coming in. Here, take this," he said, shoving his sword at Hill, who took it without comment.

The knob turned easily in his hand. Surprised, for he had been expecting it to be locked, he inched the door open to see his sister curled into the fetal position in her bed, naked, crying very hard. Her window was open, and the curtains fluttered in the night breeze above her head, casting shadows over her pale skin. She looked as if she were a part of the moonlight.

Not wishing to embarrass her, he covered her shoulders with the sheets bunched at the foot of her bed before sitting down. They were damp. She had obviously been sweating in her sleep.

"Celena, I'm here," he said, his voice low and soft.

In response, she moaned something that sounded like garbled words, but Allen couldn't understand. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. She was very cold.

"...burns..."

A taste of a memory, of Asturia burning, stirred in the back of his mind. Was she dreaming about being Dilandau? Is that why she was so upset?

"Did you have a nightmare?"

She shook her head very hard. There were fingernail shaped-impressions on her upper arm. A very red drop of blood dripped from her skin onto his nightshirt, where it bloomed like a rose.

"Celena, tell me what's wrong," he pleaded.

But she shook her head again. Allen began rubbing her back in slow circles, warming her with the heat of his hand. Although she was tall for a girl of her age, she felt very small beneath his open palm. When she was bustling about cheerfully during the day it was hard to notice that about her. She was still a girl yet.

"...out... get out..."

Those words stood out in the midst of a long stream of muttering as she lay in his lap, causing him to stop his ministrations to her back as he strained to understand her. He wasn't sure that they were directed at him, but all the same, he didn't like to think that his presence was upsetting her further. Very gently, he slid out from under her and made to leave.

"Wait. Please don't leave me alone," Celena said, clutching at the sleeve of his nightshirt.

She looked up at him for the first time that night as she crouched there on her bed, the sheet still draped around her shoulders. Her face was shiny and silvery blue in the moonlight. Allen slipped his hand into hers.

"I won't," he said. "But I'd like to get you a new nightgown first."

The shadow of a smile flickered briefly across her face, and she nodded.

He exited the room, closing the door softly behind him. Hill and Cook were still standing there, talking quietly together. He told them that he had the situation under control, and that it was safe to go to bed, but not before Hill extracted a promise from him to let her bring them breakfast in bed in the morning. When he got back to his sister's bedroom with one of his own shifts in tow, Celena was standing on the other side of her bed and looking out the window, her bed linens wrapped around her like a trailing chrysalis. Her breathing was steady again. Whatever had troubled her so finally seemed to have passed by.

"Celena," he said, proffering the gown towards her.

She started and turned around swiftly, her arms in a defensive position. When she saw it was Allen, she lowered her arms, smiled a little sheepishly, and took the shift. Then, her face extremely red, she jumped on the bed and hid under the covers as she got dressed. He respectfully turned away.

"You can look now," she said.

He turned around to see that she was sitting cross-legged at the foot of her bed.

He was thankful that he'd moved their mother's bed into her room the day that she'd finally come home. There was more than enough room for the two of them without the embarrassing potential of having to touch each other under the covers. Allen would not have minded terribly, but he suspected that Celena would be more than a little mortified. As he made himself comfortable, he was sure to settle in at least an arm's length away.

"Thanks for staying with me," she mumbled, then gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before turning to face the wall.

In the morning, after they'd woken up to a sharp rap on the door and two trays loaded with hearty breakfast food, Celena refused to tell him what had so upset her. He didn't pry as much as he'd have liked, but often alluded to it in their conversation in hopes of catching her by surprise. She only smiled at every inquiry, carefully ignoring him as she slowly chewed her food.

And now she was telling a complete stranger everything.

Allen repressed a sigh. He knew he wasn't thinking fairly. Younger sisters often kept secrets from their older brothers. It was the way of things. By nature of their relationship some things would be too uncomfortable for her to confide, as Princess Eries reminded him the day they met in the marketplace. He trusted her advice. He knew that she spoke from experience.

But _still_.

He hoped that the stranger was asking the right questions, and listening when necessary. He hoped that she wasn't drawing strange conclusions about a person who'd been through both too much and too little in life. He hoped Celena was comfortable, and not anxious and frightened without her brother standing by her side.

Frowning, he turned roughly on his heels and began walking back towards the manor. It wouldn't hurt for him to be around; at least in earshot if Celena started yelling. She wouldn't object to that, would she? No; he had no intention of leaving her alone for long. Even if she wasn't technically alone.

The leather-clad man standing outside her bedroom window served as proof that his protective instincts had been exactly right.

He didn't make a sound on the grass as he ran toward the stranger. The only indication he'd given the man that someone was behind him with a drawn sword was the cold steel of it against his neck.

"What is your business here?" he breathed in to the man's ear.

The hotness of the whisper made the man squirm despite the presence of a very long and very sharp sword against his neck. There was another, barely healed cut on his neck as well, Allen noticed. He shrewdly guessed that this man had been in this kind of situation many times before.

"Release me and I'll tell you," he said. His voice was strangely high and melodic, casting a sharp contrast with his rough appearance.

Allen made a noise between incredulity and disgust. "You're not in any position to bargain."

"You won't kill me because there isn't a war going on anymore. And correct me if I'm wrong, but it would also be in violation of your duties of a Knight, wouldn't it?"

Allen had to admit that the man was remarkably calm under pressure. He relaxed the hold on his sword but remained careful, allowing the man only room enough to turn around and face his captor. His smirk was irritating.

"It would be outside the bounds of chivalry to kill a defenseless prisoner," he conceded, keeping his voice carefully level. "I am, however, allowed to defend my family and property, through deadly force if necessary. And it would be my word against yours in the courts. That is, if I haven't killed you yet. Then it will just be my word, and my word tends to be trusted. If I were you, I wouldn't take that chance."

The man held up one of his hands in an incomplete gesture of mock fear. The other hung limply at his side, though it twitched as if to join the other hand before hanging slack again. Judging from that slight move, Allen suspected that the man had been crippled recently, probably with a knife or a sword.

"I was only pointing out what a violation murder would be to your personal honor," he said.

"Personal honor is meaningless in the face of protecting those we love," Allen said, his voice sharp. "Now state your business, thief."

Lowering his hand, the man frowned. "I'm not the thief, here. I've come to take back what was stolen from me. And you're going to let me have it."

Allen felt an irritating prick on his abdomen, like an insect bite. He looked down to see a very short, sharp dagger clutched in the hand that Allen had assumed was completely crippled. Strangely, he had not plunged the dagger in to the hilt, merely nicked him with the tip of the blade.

He frowned. "What are you pl-"

A horribly cold pain shot through Allen's torso like a quick-growing spiderweb. He staggered backward, lost his footing, and hit the ground.

Poison.

"Don't worry," the man said, his voice sounding very far away. "It'll just make you think you can't move for a while. You can still scream, though. And you can still watch. I meant to use it on the bitch, but I can just kill her just as well here as at home. Doesn't make a difference, really."

A coldness completely unlike the pain of the spreading poison settled heavily in the pit of Allen's stomach. Not Celena. Not his sister.

"I'll..." gasped Allen, dragging himself toward the man with his arms.

The poison had already caused his legs to feel like two useless logs, and he was having difficulty pulling himself forward. But he still had enough strength to lift his sword arm. He pointed it at the mocking face of the man that he now knew had tried to kidnap Hitomi and hurt his sister on that morning at the tailor's shop, when she'd come home with a sheathless sword.

"I'll..."

"What are you doing?" the man said, bending over Allen, showing him that he had nothing to fear. "The poison should be taking hold in your arms about now. I can see you're having a lot of trouble holding up that sword of yours. There, now, just slow down. It'll hurt less if you do."

Allen gritted his teeth. He needed all his concentration for what he was planning. If the stranger would just step a little closer, while he could still swing his arm.

"Coward... stay... away..." Allen breathed.

It worked. Laughing, the man crouched next to Allen and placed his hand on the Knight's head, stroking his hair as he lay there.

"She'll have bled to death by the time you can move again," he crooned. "It'll be like falling asleep, once she gets over the pain of having all her limbs cut off."

"You... sure..?"

Pouring every last drop of the anger, revulsion, and horror he felt into it, Allen swung his sword, as hard as he could. It hit home, sinking halfway into the man's calf and sticking in his bone, wobbling as the man fell backwards with his injured leg in the air. The poison had sapped enough of his strength so that he couldn't dig the blade deeper, but he had managed elicit the desired scream. He only hoped that Celena and Sati would be able to hear it from indoors and get away.

For a few long miets, Allen felt the grass on his face and was aware of very little else. He knew that the man was grunting painfully as he tried to work the sword from himself, but it seemed inconsequential, like a dream. He knew with an injury like that, there was no way that he would be able to catch up with Celena, especially if she repeated what she'd done that morning in the tailor's shop. Whatever happened to him was meaningless, as long as she was safe. He only regretted that he would have to leave her alone.

There was a great thud, and then silence.

* * *

When Dryden's second message about Hitomi had come, early that morning, Millerna hadn't intended on relaying it to the Schezar estate. Her morning schedule was free for the first time in ages, and she'd planned to spend it riding. The message about Hitomi had worried her. The ride would have helped clear her busy mind, and the picnic lunch she'd packed would go well with the heavy medical books she planned to crack open in the privacy of her favorite pasture. 

She had done everything to prepare for her day; changed into her pink-shirted and black-slacked Egzardian outfit, reserved a horse, had one of the servants stow her medical texts and lunch in the saddlebags, and put on riding boots and gloves. She was just walking out the front door when one of the palace messengers, bowing, presented her with a message sealed in green wax. She broke it open to find a short message from her sister inside.

_Millerna,_

_I trust that the news concerning Hitomi has reached you. Though I loathe to do so, I fear I must pass the duty of relaying this message to Allen and his sister on to you. The Finance Minister unexpectedly waylaid me as I was preparing to leave with a long-winded complaint about what our donations to countries other than Asturia are costing us. He has graciously allowed me a moment to write this. His generosity is indeed boundless. _

_Take heart that this duty, while unpleasant, will offer you opportunity to become reacquainted with Allen. I do not think he would take the news well from anyone else. Give him and his sister my best regards. _

_-Eries_

_Diplomatic as always, sister,_ Millerna thought With a sigh.

Crumpling the message, she bade the messenger tell her sister that she'd accepted the duty, and that she would send word if she ended up staying for dinner. At least, she thought, the horse she'd reserved wouldn't go to waste. As she climbed her mount, she decided it was a good thing that the long journey would give her ample time to prepare for the awkwardness that was sure to come.

She didn't know what she was going to say to him. What had they talked about in the past? She remembered the conversation on the roof when she had first kissed him, her flirtations during dinner and his gallant replies, the moments in Freid that she chattered blithely away at him while she changed the dressing his wounds, unconsciously reminding him of the past... she cringed, thinking about how oblivious she'd been. Even if it had been to the point of blindness, she was at the very least certain that she'd cared very much for him. She still did, come to think of it. Even now, the mention of his name would make her heart speed up a few paces, as if she were a young girl giddily watching him disarm opponents at the tournaments again. But did she really know him at all? Like Hitomi knew Van?

Or like Eries knew him?

Millerna wasn't stupid. She was young, occasionally naive, and often stubborn, but she was sharp as a rapier when she wasn't blinded by a girlish crush. And from the few interactions between Allen and Eries that she'd seen since returning to Asturia from Asgard, she inferred that something had occurred between them a long time ago. They had an easy repartee that spoke of long friendship, one that allowed room for blunt rebukes and confidences alike. He'd trusted Eries enough to want to leave his sister to her, when Celena had first walked, dazed, out of the forest and back into his life, something Allen wouldn't even trust to the servants who had helped raised them.

Perhaps they'd met around the time that he had accepted duty as Marlene's personal guard. Perhaps earlier. She wondered how Eries had felt then. Or how she felt now.

Turning a sharp corner, her horse began its ascent up the long, wooded path leading to the Schezar estate. The morning mist had already burnt away, even under the forest leaves, promising that the day to come would be especially hot. She was glad that she'd foregone a more feminine garment; her usual dress would have been sure to be stifling later.

As she rounded the top of the hill and came within sight of the manor, she thought she heard Allen speaking with someone. It was a male voice, but a strange one which she didn't recognize. Well, she thought, she would find out who he was speaking with soon enough. The stables were a short distance away from the manor, and the path she took led her past a thick group of trees that shielded the stable from the unwelcome eyes of casual thieves.

After turning her horse loose in the fenced pasture behind the stable, she took the far path back to the manor, which would lead her through the same thick copse of trees that hid the stable. Her saddlebags were heavier than she was expecting. She hoped that Celena liked liverwurst sandwiches.

As soon as she reached the end of the path, she stifled a scream. Allen was face down on the ground, his sword held trembling in the air next to a strange man, who was crouching over him and touching his head. It looked to Millerna like he might be stroking Allen's hair, but the idea was so completely absurd that she had to dismiss it. What mattered was that Allen was obviously hurt. Her first instinct was to run to his side and assess his wounds, but she was hesitant to approach the stranger. Slowly, she began sneaking toward them, hoping that the soft grass would muffle her footsteps.

In a blur of sudden motion, Allen swung his arm and buried his sword in the man's leg. The man fell backward and gave one enormous scream before collapsing into strangled moans. The sword shook and tore at him with every one of his movements, his blood seeping through his clothes and onto the grass and his leg bending oddly in the air.

_Yes!_ Millerna thought. _Now's your chance, Allen! Get up!_

But Allen was completely still. Even as the strange man grunted, using one hand to tug at the sword that had become embedded in his shin, Allen lay there unmoving. and Millerna was filled with an uncomfortable certainty that he would not be moving again any time soon.

With a final, awful wrench, the man pulled Allen's sword free of his leg. He struggled to his feet, using the sword as a lever, and spat on Allen. Slowly, he shifted his weight so that he was balancing on one leg, and with equal care, lifted the sword above his head. And Millerna realized that she didn't have any more time to waste.

She dropped the bag containing her lunch, hefted the saddlebag full of books above her shoulder, and ran full tilt towards her former lover and his assailant. Swinging the bag in a great arc, she connected it with the back of the man's head, and he crumpled like a silk panel to the ground, his leg bending under him with a final, sickening crunch.

* * *

Though Allen had been aware that Millerna had discovered him lying below his sister's bedroom window, he had been unable to make sense of the sounds coming from her lips as she mouthed frantically at him like a fish. His sister had proven useful in dragging him back into the house, adding her own strength to Millerna's as Sati made sure that the way was clear. They'd been unable to pull him as far as his room, and instead set him on the sofa in the parlor while Millerna mixed up a remedy for his poison. He wanted to tell them that it would wear off, but the only sounds he could make were garbled moans, and even they sounded to him as if they were coming from the other side of a stone wall. 

Consequently, he was unable to protest as the servants set up a pallet on the floor for the man who had come to kill his sister.

Some time during his slow convalescence, Celena left for town with Sati to inform the authorities that there had been an intruder, leaving Millerna behind to watch over them both. She had settled down in an armchair near Allen's head, and was slowly leafing through one of her own books, apparently lost to the world.

This was an abysmally stupid move in Allen's opinion. What if the intruder woke up while they were away? He had already proven himself capable of disregarding personal injury in favor of revenge. He hoped that Millerna had sedated the man when she was busy with him in the corner. That was the only thing he thought could account for such a gross oversight on her part.

Sound returned to him like rain. Gently at first, then heavier on his head, and then a rush. Birdsong was the first thing he understood, followed by the rustle of paper as Millerna turned the page in her book. Tentatively, he opened and closed his mouth, while lifting his fingers one by one.

"I feel as if I'm made of stone," he said.

Millerna smiled and put her book in her lap.

"Welcome back. Is there any tingling in your extremities?"

"No. Should there be?"

"Oh, heavens no! It's good that you don't. It means that you're not allergic to the poison."

She leaned over and put her hand to his forehead.

"Your temperature isn't up, so that's good too. You should be able to walk again in about an hour."

"I thank you," Allen said. "I'm very lucky that you decided to visit us this morning."

He placed his hand over hers and squeezed it briefly. But she pulled her and away and placed it in her lap, smiling apologetically as she did so. The ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece filled the room as they awkwardly looked away from each other. In doing so, Allen caught sight of the intruder, lying unguarded on his makeshift bed.

"Why isn't anyone watching him?" he said, his voice disapproving.

The Princess gripped her sleeves, and very slowly replied, "I wasn't able to save him."

"You weren't able to-" he struggled to sit up. "What do you mean?"

"He died. While you were recovering. I think it was blood poisoning."

Allen felt an unexpected twinge of regret for the man. He hadn't intended to kill him, simply teach him a lesson, perhaps disable him enough that he would never come near his sister again. It seemed that he'd been more effective than planned. But what was done was done. Now there was the present to deal with.

"What about Celena?"

A little distantly, Millerna said, "When I told her, she said, 'good,' like it was nothing."

Allen frowned. "Pardon?"

Noticing the look of surprise on his face, she said, speaking very quickly, "Oh, you wanted to know how she's feeling, I'm sorry. She's fine. She was scared for you at first, but once you were out of the woods she was really full of energy and wanted to go into town and find someone to take the body away before you got up. Shall I get you something drink? Liquids will help you flush more of the poison out of your system."

She stood up to get him a drink from the kitchen, but Allen grabbed her wrist before she could step away from her chair. His grip wasn't nearly strong enough to hold her back; he was still quite weak from the poison. However, it seemed that the pressure of his fingers on her wrist was all that it took to stop her.

"Princess Millerna," he said, "My sister is still adjusting to her new life. From time to time, she may say things that seem startling, but we must make allowances for what she's been through. From a practical standpoint-"

"I know that," she said, irritably.

He dropped his hand back onto the couch and waited for her to elaborate on her feelings, but it seemed that she wasn't willing to oblige him. Without a word, she stalked off to the kitchen and returned a few miets later with a full glass of water, which she proffered at Allen insistently until he took it. He decided that it would be best not to argue. Beside him, Millerna heavily sat down on her arm chair, folded her arms across her chest, and watched to be sure that he drank the entire glass.

When he was finished, she said, seemingly out of nowhere, "We received a message from Dryden this morning. It's why I visited, actually."

"What? Why didn't you tell me earlier? What is it?"

In his haste to know the contents of the message, he forgot to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He was more annoyed at the mention of Dryden's name than anything, but it was apparent that Millerna thought that the emotion was meant for her, and she glared at him silently in retaliation.

"Forgive my rudeness, Princess. I was so concerned for Hitomi that I did not consider the ordeals that you have been through on my behalf since you arrived here. Please accept my apologies."

"Yes, well," Millerna said, slightly mollified. "The message didn't contain much new information. Just that the Regent denies arresting her and that they now think that she's being held by a private citizen."

"Hitomi..."

"The Regent's doing all he can to help them, but it's like searching for an energist among crystals."

Millerna bit her lip and looked out the window. Allen couldn't say he was surprised. It had seemed odd that Zaibach, which would likely be looking for allies, would hold Hitomi prisoner at such a delicate time. But the sinking feeling in his stomach wasn't any easier to deal with knowing it was coming. He briefly held his hand to his forehead, allowing himself a pure moment of anxiety for the girl he'd once considered marrying.

When he was finished, he looked at Millerna, who was still determinedly not meeting his eyes, though from the way she clenched her hands together in her lap she was obviously worried for Hitomi as well. He supposed that she was trying to allow him privacy. And though it was ungentlemanly of any Knight to value his own grief over that of a Lady's, he was grateful for her consideration.

"Thank you," he said. "I don't like the message, but I'd rather have heard this from you than an anonymous courier."

Millerna turned to him, an odd expression on her face. "Eries was supposed to tell you, actually. She was planning on heading up her after breakfast, but she got tied up."

"Ah," he replied, not sure where she was going with this.

"You two seem close," she said, trying and failing to keep her voice nonchalant. "I don't know why I didn't notice it before. Probably because I was so infatuated with you that I couldn't see past our own little exchanges."

"Princess, I'm not sure that-"

"And you still call me 'Princess,' like you don't know me at all. Weren't we lovers? But you never said you loved me, did you? I just never noticed."

Allen was silent. There wasn't much he felt he could say to such an accusation. Especially because it was true. He had never been quite sure how to interact with Millerna. He was fond of her, certainly. At some points, he had been halfway convinced that she was his second chance at love, Marlene reincarnated perhaps, but without the sorrow that he'd so badly wanted to banish from her eyes.

But that was the problem.

"Perhaps I was rash. You mean very much to me. I never meant to give you the impression that you didn't."

"But you don't _love_ me."

"I- our positions, we could never have-"

"Allen."

The line about her mouth told him that it wasn't any use. He was, as a rule, a very private person. Eries, perhaps, had been privy to most of him, though there were still things that he was sure that not even she knew. If he went on making excuses for his behavior based on the discrepancies in their rank, or the bounds of chivalry, Millerna would think him a liar or worse. Those excuses were a part of it, but he knew, and Millerna knew, exactly what the truth of the matter was. He just needed to say it.

"It's easy to see her in you," he said, his voice level as he started into a past that Millerna couldn't see. "I cared as well as I could, given the circumstances. Perhaps I could have learned to love you for yourself instead of for her, one day, and made you as happy as you deserve."

"But I've been a lot happier lately," she said. "Since Dryden left. I've been more myself, not that silly girl in love with you."

Though her tone was gentle, her words hurt him. His reputation of a ladies' man was not undeserved, and he especially earned it in that hellish period after Marlene died, but it was still awful to hear that someone thought she was silly for having loved him. Was he worth that little?

"I'm sorry," she said, catching the pained look in his eyes. "But it's like I said when you left for battle. I've got to learn to make myself happy before I start to rely too much on others. And I'm trying to be,I'm not that person anymore. She wasn't anything without a lover."

"That's not true," Allen said, a faint smile on his face. "She was intelligent, and brave, and strong. She saved my life."

"Well, she couldn't see that far," Millerna replied, returning his smile with one of her own. "Not unless someone was telling her so."

"And do you realize these things now?"

Millerna paused, thinking.

"You know?" she said, slowly. "I think I'm starting to."

And she laughed. It was one of the most relaxed sounds he'd ever heard from her, not the high-pitched giggle of a girl determined to flirt, or the refined titter that hid the true opinions of a lady of rank. She was laughing as Millerna, a person he realized he was just beginning to know.

"Tell me about what you've been up to that's helped you come to this obvious revelation."

She dissolved into an energetic explanation of where she was in her studies. The light in her eyes as she joyfully explained how she'd managed to find an antidote to his poison brought him back to Marlene, the day she told him she was to be married. It was a different kind of light in Millerna, stronger, more self-assured, and more real than that in Marlene's as she'd looked over her shoulder at him, smiling through her tears, and said that her time with him had been the happiest of her life. She would later learn what real happiness was in Freid, just as her younger sister would learn when all the men in her life were finally gone. Happiness began inside.

He hoped that she would always be his friend.

* * *

The moons had risen, the sky was dark, and Van was climbing to the highest point of Zaibach's captial; the roof of the so-called palace. He'd climbed up there from the outside, exhibiting the kind of courage only held by those who are able to fly if something goes wrong. The activity had been wonderfully arduous. Even though it was drastically colder at night than it had been during the day, his shoulders and back were slick with sweat from the physical exertion. At that moment, he felt more alive than he had since Hitomi disappeared. 

As soon as he pulled himself over the edge of the roof and collapsed, exhausted, onto his back, his thoughts came rushing back. For the past day, he had picked up wisps of her feelings at the back of his mind. She hadn't felt anything strongly enough for him to have a clear definition of what she was thinking, but he knew that she was planning something. And he was going to be ready for it.

He reached out with his mind, searching.

And somewhere nearby, Hitomi brought a heavy paperweight down on Paruchi's shining head.

* * *

A/N - This chapter was surprisingly difficult to write. I hope it turned out well, though I think it's pretty awkward in some places. 

In the next chapter, lots of things will happen. I've been wanting to get to this point for ages. :)


	16. Flight

Chapter 16 - Flight

The paperweight fell from her hands and onto the carpet. It rolled about a foot, then came to rest under her bed, where it nestled against the long forgotten box of papers in which it had been discovered, hours before. The Sorcerer lay sprawled on the floor, his head bent toward his chest and his arms curled like a child's. A heady bruise was already spreading over the back of his bald head, and a trickle of blood leaked from a crack in his skull, staining the pale blue carpet a strangely pretty red.

Hitomi listened hard. Below, she could hear occasional footsteps, which became audible as they approached her position in the house and then faded into silence again. The seconds passed excruciatingly slowly. Down the hall, a servant dropped an empty glass and nearly caused Hitomi to scream, but she clamped her hands over her own mouth and bit down, hard, on her tongue. Several more seconds passed, which faded into miets, then into her own, more familiar minutes, and then finally she was sure that save Paruchi and herself, the second floor was completely deserted. If anyone had heard the body fall to the floor, they apparently hadn't decided to do anything about it.

She dropped her hands limply to her side and let out a breath that she wasn't even aware that she'd been holding. Then, catching herself guiltily, she looked over at Paruchi's body and tried very hard not to be sick.

It wasn't that she didn't see the necessity of her action. If she hadn't knocked Paruchi out, he would have overpowered her in seconds, and retaliated in kind by keeping her bound up at all times when she was not under direct supervision, reducing the chances of her escaping unassisted to absolutely nothing. Yes, what she'd done was just and proper. The first obligation of a prisoner was to escape, after all.

But there was still a body on the floor. And it was her hand that had done it.

She remembered the look on Van's face when she'd first met him; that regretful, distant look in his eyes as he watched the dragon's skeleton disappear. He'd regretted taking life, once. He probably still did. She wondered as she bent over Paruchi's body how Van had learned to cope with killing. There was a disquieted feeling in her stomach as she considered that the person she loved was capable of such a thing.

_It was war, Hitomi_, she chided herself. _He didn't have a choice. It isn't like he's one of your classmates, and he suddenly decided that he'd take up murder as a hobby; it's a different thing altogether._

Being careful not to jostle him too hard, Hitomi began rifling through the pockets of Paruchi's huge cloak. What she was looking for would probably be in one of the inside pockets. After bypassing a few cards and a crumpled piece of paper, she found the heavy iron keyring and straightened up, breathing steadily. No matter how much she hated hurting another person, Paruchi's heart was still beating. He would wake up sooner or later. Van had to deal with far worse situations. And if he could deal with it, she severely thought, then she would deal with it too.

Carefully, she opened what had been her prison door and peered into the hallway. It was still clear. She thought that the lack of ambient noise was a good sign as she made her way towards the grand stairwell. Though she would have preferred to smash the upstairs window and use her blankets as a makeshift rope, thus avoiding much interference household staff, her entire plan would be ruined if Paruchi figured out the reason that she'd taken his keys. So she took a few deep breaths, stepped into the back stairs, and headed for the front door.

At the bottom of the stairs, she paused and listened, hard. It didn't sound like anyone was approaching. All the servants were probably busy with the kitchen, cleaning up after supper or clearing away the remains of Paruchi's meal. If any of them happened by while she was walking out the door, however, she would have to count on her speed to save her, so her muscles were tensed on high alert, ready to spring if need be. Her sneaker made a soft squeaking noise as she stepped onto the wooden floor. She cringed, but pressed on. If she stopped now they'd get her for sure.

Time seemed to slow down as she tiptoed down the open hall toward the front room. Every sound was a servant with a frying pan, come to knock her out, every shadow an oncoming attacker, and every snippet of conversation was a plot to stop her escape. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming and making a break for it.

After what she was sure was at least a half hour of walking, though it had only been a few miets, her hand was on the delicate silver door handle. She pushed it gently down.

It stuck.

Feeling very cold all of a sudden, she pulled the handle up instead, and felt the door unlatch. But still, it wouldn't open. Something that wasn't the handle was keeping it shut. After a few terrifying seconds thinking that the door was somehow magically barricaded against her, she felt the weight of Paruchi's keys in her hand and nearly laughed with relief. She was almost there. All she had to do was choose the right key.

She wrapped the end of her sleeve around the ring to prevent the keys from rattling together as she tried them, one by one. The fifth key turned smoothly around and with a soft click. The door was unlocked. Now there was nothing standing between her and freedom. With a triumphant grin, she pulled open the door and stepped onto the threshold.

Only to see a man in a black cape with his fist raised to knock on the door.

For a moment, they stared at each other, mouths open, as Hitomi frantically thought of what to say.

"Um, ah, it's, um, it's a nice night, isn't it?" she said, smiling very hard.

"I-" the man began.

"No, no, I'm sorry, would you like to come in? I was just stepping out to um, to pick up some... flour. For the kitchen. We ran out."

"At this time of night?" the man said, one eyebrow raised. It was, Hitomi realized, the third man in the photo that she'd seen upstairs, the one with short white hair and a pointed white beard. His expression was still a little surprised, but was slowly turning towards polite incredulity. He obviously didn't believe her.

"Yeah!" Hitomi said, trying her best to sound nonchalant and succeeding at sounding wild and enthusiastic. "I know a place down by the park! It's new, you probably wouldn't know it. Just go inside and make yourself comfortable and Minda will be with you right away!"

"I see," he said, but made no further comments. Hitomi held the door open for him and gave a half curtsy as he strode past her. As soon as he passed the threshold she released the door, turned on her heels, and began to walk away as fast as she could without appearing to run.

"Just a moment!" the man called out.

Hitomi swore under her breath and turned around. "Sir?"

"I haven't seen you before. May I have your name?"

"Celena," Hitomi said, using the first name to pop into her head.

"Celena," the man repeated with a frown. "Thank you. When you return we're going to have a long talk with your patron about your behavior this evening. Sneaking out at night is against the servant's code. I expect you back soon with the flour you professed to be seeking"

"Uh... yes, sir," she replied, forcing an expression of dread onto her face. "Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?"

The man regarded her imperiously for a second, and then shook his head.

"No. You may go."

"Thank you, sir," she said, and watched him until he disappeared into the house. Then she broke into a run and sped along the dark streets as fast as her legs could carry her, the stolen key ring jingling in her left hand, her hair flying back in the night air.

She was free.

* * *

There was nothing for it. If they wanted to make it back to Asturia in time for the summit, they were going to have to leave in the morning, Hitomi or no Hitomi. According to Gaddes the winds would be working against them the entire time, so they would have to rely entirely on the power of the energist engines. The lack of cargo would help their speed a little, but they were still looking at a one and a half day journey, and they'd already been in Zaibach for three days. Dryden rubbed his forehead with his hand and snapped shut the book in which he'd been recording his calculations.

"Make preparations to leave in the morning."

"You sure, sir?" Gaddes said.

"Yes," Dryden curtly replied, putting his book in the desk drawer.

"What about Hitomi and the King?"

"I appreciate that you're a man of honor, Gaddess, but you know as well as I do that if we don't leave in the morning I won't be able to make my appearance at the summit, Asturia will lose face in front of Basram and the others, and my father will disinherit me."

A ghost of a smile flicked across Gaddes' face, but he sobered up quickly. "Yeah, but-"

"They'll find their way back. Merle and Rhum will stand in again for Fanelia if Van and Hitomi don't return in time. He even expressly asked me not to wait for him if he couldn't make it back in time, and I can't go against the word of a fellow monarch."

"Hey, you're not king."

"Not _yet_," Dryden corrected, striking a regal pose.

Gaddes smiled, but said, "It still stinks, sir."

Dryden stood up and tucked his hair behind his ears. "Yes. Yes it does. But I can't fly around in circles for hours waiting for them to reappear. It would be a waste of time and resources. We've done our part already."

"I guess," Gaddes uncomfortably assented.

It was obvious that the man wasn't comfortable with his orders, no matter the justifications. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and scratched the back of his neck, all the while avoiding Dryden's eyes. But the merchant wasn't in much of a mood to spend the rest of the night reassuring him. What mattered was that his orders be carried out so that they could be ready to leave on time.

"Good. Now go and inform the men. I'll want you up early tomorrow. If Van and Hitomi don't show up by an hour past dawn, we're leaving with or without them."

Gaddes frowned, but bowed his head in assent and walked out the door. Alone at last, Dryden turned to look out the wide window at the back of his office, watching as the people of Zaibach walked to and fro about the pavement and the dirt, their small faces bathed in strange artificial light. His thoughts turned to the new box in the cargo hold, and then to Van, the young and reckless king who had left without a word just after sunset, and finally to Hitomi. Wherever she was in this huge, electric city, he hoped that she would get out soon. He didn't really want to have to follow through with the decision to leave without them, though had a funny feeling that he'd have no choice, come dawn.

"They'll understand," Dryden said again, but his voice did little to ease the weight in his heart.

* * *

Panting, Hitomi leaned against the wall of the alleyway she'd slipped into. There was a lot of activity on the street, but apparently her instincts had been correct again in leading her to a place to hide. She clutched at the heavy set of keys in her pocket. Was Paruchi awake yet? Had he sent someone after her, perhaps the man she'd met on the doorstep? After what she'd done, she knew that if he caught her again it wouldn't be a cushy stay in the guest room with occasional vials of blood taken after big meals. It would be the locked door in his private lab with the Ispano until she grew sick and died, international incidents be damned. She'd never see Van or her family again.

Van.

She had to get to open air. He would find her from there, and they could do what she'd promised to do before Dryden was scheduled to leave in the morning. The trouble was, without her pendant, she wasn't sure she could dowse her way anywhere. She automatically clutched the open space where the necklace would be hanging if she hadn't lost it the night she'd been "arrested," and feeling nothing but air, bit her lip.

But she was out. And she'd done it without relying on her pendant.

Taking strength from that thought, she looked around her. Tall buildings rose on every side, save for the narrow gap through which she'd slipped. It was difficult to see anything beyond her that cluster of walls, so navigating by sight was out of the question. If only she could get up high and see where she was... and as if on cue, she spotted something like a fire escape hanging on the side of the building opposite her. From where she was standing it appeared that the ladder went all the way to the top of the tall building, but she would have to jump for the ladder and hoist herself up

Hitomi stood under the ladder jumped straight up a few times, before deciding that she was just too short to grab the bottom-most rung without getting some momentum into her jump. It might attract attention to her, but if she could grab the ladder on her first try it wouldn't matter, since she would be climbing out of sight before anyone could catch up to her.

There was a commotion in the main street as she made her way to the entrance of the alley. A small group of soldiers was chasing a girl about Hitomi's age, but they were having trouble keeping up with her due to the thickness of the crowd and the girl's lithe steps. Hitomi tried to put it out of her mind as she assumed her starting stance.

"Focus," she muttered to herself.

Just as the girl whizzed by the entrance to her alley and ducked around the next corner, Hitomi launched herself forward, ran with all she had, and leaped. Her open palms slapped against the cold metal of the ladder and she gripped hard, fighting against the shock in her shoulders as her whole body weight was suddenly and violently supported by her arms. She knew that they would be very sore later, but put the thought out of her mind as she struggled to pull herself up to the ladder. Once she hooked her legs on the bottom rung, she was able to push the rest of her body into a standing position. Panting, but happy with her achievement, she was leaned her forehead against a cool rung of her ladder to gather her strength before she climbed further.

However, she didn't get to rest for very long. From very nearby, a gruff male voice called out, "Stop! Thief!"

There at the entrance to the alley was the group of soldiers that had been chasing the girl, though she was no where in sight. A jolt of surprise shot through Hitomi when she realized that the soldier had been calling out to her, apparently convinced that she was the girl he and his men had been chasing.

"Um, I-" she began, but stopped in mid-sentence as the small group advanced on her, apparently not interested in listening to explanations.

The prospect of being caught again when she'd just escaped from one prison caused her to uncharacteristically panic. She was two floors up by the time they reached the bottom of the ladder and started their pursuit, one at a time. Her hands began to sweat.

_Not again,_ she thought. _Please not again._

She tumbled onto the roof, scrambled to her feet, and ran to the edge of the building, hoping for a jumpable gap for her to leap and thus clear off her pursuers, but there was nothing. She cast around, looking for some kind of door to get into the building, but although the light affixed to a pole in the center of the roof brightly illuminated everything, it didn't reveal any hidden entrances. All around her she could hear the voices of the people on the street mingling with heavy boots on the ladder. The soldiers would catch up to her soon, and she would be at their mercy.

She clutched her hands together, put them under her chin, and silently prayed, _If there's going to be a miracle, please let it happen now._

The wind stirred. She looked to the sky but her gaze was broken when she caught movement from the corner of her eye. A gloved hand gripped the top rung of the ladder, then was joined by its opposite, and followed by an armored head as the first soldier pulled himself up.

"I-" Hitomi began.

"Be quiet," the soldier panted as he drew his long, curved sword. "And be still, damn you."

"You're making a mistake, I'm not-"

"Shut up, girl," he growled, and his two companions appeared behind him. One was clutching at a stitch in his side, as the other panted heavily and leaned on his knees. Despite their exhaustion, however, they weren't moving from their position in front the ladder, cutting off Hitomi's last escape route. She was trapped.

"Come here, give me the necklace, put your hands on your head, and come with us. You will be detained in the main dungeons until such... a time... as..."

The soldier's words faded into silence, and all three men were gazing at a point sightly above Hitomi's head. Before she could turn to find out what it was they were staring at, a sudden force from behind knocked her so far off her feet that she hurtled over the edge of the building. But she did not fall.

She flew, and the beat of huge wings filled the air.

"Van!" she called.

The great spiked roof of the palace blocked out the stars in the moonless sky as they flew together through the dark air. She hadn't realized that she was so close to the palace, though in retrospect it made sense for a well-to-do Sorcerer like Paruchi to have a luxurious home in the heart of the capital. But even that revelation, which would have been quite interesting to her a few minutes before, was drowned the joy of the moment.

Van landed on one of the few unlit roofs of the palace and they tumbled over in a heap, his feathers scattering away in the wind like white flowers. The keys she was clutching clanged onto the roof as Hitomi threw her arms around his shoulders and nestled her head in the crook of his neck, repeating his name over and over again. One of his hands was in her hair and the other was curled tightly about her waist, nearly squeezing the breath out of her, but she didn't care. All that mattered was that he was _here_, that he was _with her_, that his breath was in her ear.

"Hitomi," he half-whispered.

And, rather forcefully, he grabbed her chin and moved her head towards his before kissing her more roughly and desperately than he'd ever done. A warm, tingling feeling spread from between her legs, washing over her like fire burns away at the edges of newspaper, and she made a small sound that caused Van to hold her tighter. He pushed one shoulder of her robe down and over her school blouse in his need to be nearer to her. As his hand worked slowly up and under her robe, his fingers dug into her back, creating small explosions of pleasure in her aching muscles. She responded in kind, gripping him hard with both hands, returning his kiss as strongly as it was given.

Almost as soon as it had begun, it was over. Sighing, Van relaxed all over, pulling Hitomi on top of him as he slumped against the roof. Hitomi lifted her head and looked at him, puzzled at his sudden withdrawal, and Van shook his head. Suddenly self-conscious, she pulled the loosened shoulder of her robe back to its former place.

"We can't stay here for long," he said. "If anyone's looking for you, I provided a pretty obvious target just now."

"What, when you flew in and carried me off?"

Van grimaced and didn't answer, and she realized that she had misspoken.

"Thank you," she said, very quietly. "You really saved me back there."

He shook his head again.

"I'd do anything to save you," he said, his voice straining a little.

She knew in her heart that she'd do the same thing for him without thinking, just as she'd done countless times since she'd met him. But voicing that unspoken promise caused another, slightly different tingle of pleasure to bubble up in her stomach. She wished very hard that she could think of something to say to that, but at those words her mind seemed to have been completely erased. She felt rather like a child again, in the presence of something beautiful that she loved but couldn't describe.

Then something on Van's chest sparkled in the moonlight, and she sat up in happy surprise.

"My pendant!" she cried.

"Ah, I found it after you disappeared. Some older woman had it; here, take it back. It belongs with you."

He sat up himself, lifted the pendant over his head, and placed it in Hitomi's hand. She held it there, gazing at it as a wash of complicated feelings stirred her mind. She'd missed the pendant very much and she was very happy that it wasn't lost forever. It was an heirloom of her grandmother, after all, and it had been a good luck charm to her since she was very small. But it was also responsible for amplifying her fortune telling, transporting her unexpectedly to dangerous places, and even, she suspected, nudging the future towards misfortune by amplifying the troubled feelings in her heart. It was the power of her wishes, and it worked doubly well since she already sensitive to the currents of fate. She'd become accustomed to solving problems without its sometimes dubious assistance. That feeling was surprisingly freeing.

But.

When she had it on, she could feel what Van was feeling, touch him with her thoughts, even keep him safe. And for that, she was willing to risk a few more surprises. At least for now.

"Thank you," she said, as put on the pendant.

"It was lucky I saw it. That's all. I just kept it safe for you."

"This might seem like a weird question," she began, folding her hands in her lap and looking embarrassedly over her shoulder, "But could you, ah, sense anything while you were wearing it?"

Taking her seriously, much to his credit, he answered her question without much thought. "Sometimes I could tell how you were feeling."

"Did you sense anything else?"

He shrugged. "Just your feelings. Most of the time, you felt trapped."

"Hm," she said, absently. An idea was forming in her mind, and she could almost see it. It was flickering at the corner of her thoughts, and if she could just look at it hard enough...

"Where were you, Hitomi?"

Her half-formed idea vanished like smoke, and she looked at Van. Though she was loathe to add to his already complicated feelings about Zaibach, she knew that she'd be doing them both a disservice if she didn't tell him what had happened. As she spoke, the line between his eyebrows deepened and he began to frown. By the time she was finished with her story, he was scowling fiercely, like a dragon.

"He took your _blood_?"

"He probably thought I was a new species. He thinks the same thing about Draconains, so I guess thinking that about people from the Mystic Moon wasn't too much of a stretch for him."

"That's ridiculous!"

"I think he was planning to dissect me in the end. Like he wants to do with that poor Ispano..."

Something chimed quietly in the back of Hitomi's thoughts.

"Hey, Van. Is the Crusade still leaving for Asturia tomorrow?"

"Yeah, In the morning. I told Dryden not to wait for us if we couldn't be there on time, but it doesn't matter now that... what is it?"

Hitomi was biting her lip and looking pensively off into the distance.

"Van," she said slowly, "We have to help that Ispano. If we don't do anything, he's going to die."

"Hitomi?"

"I can't leave him there. I can't. It's why I took these keys," she said, picking up the abandoned iron keyring and showing it to Van.

He was silent for a time as he regarded them. He seemed to be thinking about something, but Hitomi couldn't tell exactly what was going through his mind; he was at his most distant and unreadable. She felt guilty about impositioning him like this when they had so little time to lose, but she couldn't forget the Ispano's wracking, wet coughs as he shivered in a cold cell, and his kind words to her when he was already so lost himself.

"Do you remember were that Sorcerer's lab was?"

She shook her head, and said, "No, but I can find him by dowsing. Look, I've got something with his blood on it. That should work."

She pulled her bloody handkerchief from her bra and showed it to Van. Where the Ispano's blood touched it was dull blue in the moonlight.

Van stood up and held out his hand to her.

"We'll have to do it now."

"Van!" she said, smiling and taking it. He pulled her to her feet. Once she was there, he let go of her and pulled on his shirt, which had been tucked into his belt. Far below, on the grounds around the palace, soldiers were running to and fro, trying to search out the place where the Draconian and the thief had hidden themselves. Van had been right; they didn't have long before the search eventually reached the rooftops. It was time to go.

"I know a way in."

Just then, Hitomi remembered why they'd come to Zaibach in the first place, and grabbed Van's arm.

"Wait, Van. I forgot. I'm sorry."

"Hitomi?" he said, his expression confused.

"Did you ever meet with the Regent?"

"Oh," he said, realizing what she was getting at. "Yes. Don't worry; I took care of everything."

"How did you...?"

"It doesn't matter. We've got to hurry if we want to help the Ispano and make it back to the ship on time."

His dismissive tone surprised her, but he was right; they couldn't afford to waste time talking. Even if he was trying to hide something from her, she decided that she'd ask him again on their way back to Asturia. Whatever he had to do to get Folken's body, she hoped it hadn't been at too high a price.

With careful stealth, Van opened a hidden hatchway in the roof, and they disappeared into the palace.

* * *

A/N: Hello! Long time no see. Sorry it's taken so long for the next update. I'm not even sure this one is really very good, haha. But for those of you who have alerted and friended since my last post: hello! For those who have read since the beginning: hello again, and I hope you're not too mad at me for taking such a long time. I hope you enjoyed it. Oh, and thank you to the anonymous commentors, who I can't reply to in the usual way. You're wonderful!

Preview:

_Van clenched his jaw and growled, "You Sorcerers are disgusting. This Ispano is dying because of what you've done to him, and all you can say is that he's the only one you've managed to find, like he's some kind of collector's item?"_

"Van, don't-"

"It's- it's not ideal, I admit, and-"

"Not ideal!?" Van spat, and this time he drew his sword. 

* * *


	17. Good Intentions

Chapter 17 - Good Intentions

"Van, wait," Hitomi whispered, placing her hand on his shoulder.

He had been about to step into their next corridor when Hitomi stopped him. Just as he pulled back into the deserted room they'd been leaving, a blue-robed custodian walked silently past them. Once the sound of his footsteps faded away, Hitomi nodded, and the two of them ran as quietly as they could toward the next unlocked room.

"How much further?" Van asked as he shut the door behind them.

Hitomi closed her eyes and held the pendant in front of her, letting her mind slip into the familiar unfocused concentration of dowsing.

"Not far," she replied.

"Good. The sooner we find the Ispano and get out of here, the better."

His voice betrayed the impatience that she'd felt boiling under his methodical actions, and Hitomi glared at the back of his head. She understood that he was tired, but she was tired too, and it wasn't fair of him to take his feelings out on her. Didn't he understand that she'd made a promise?

"Sorry. We're only saving someone's life."

Van's eyes snapped to hers and he frowned. For the first time since their reunion, she noticed that there were deep circles under his eyes. Her annoyance faltered a little at his reproachful gaze, but the embarrassment only lasted until he spoke.

"I _know_. You don't need to remind me."

"I didn't know it would take this long," she said, her tone lofty and apologetic at once.

"Pardon me for being tired," he shot back.

In response, she stuck her nose in the air and turned away. Van fought back a groan and ran his hand through his hair, causing it to stand on end as he willed himself to be patient.

"Is it safe yet?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh. Um, hold on."

While she was giving him the cold shoulder, she'd neglected to try and sense any presences around them. She felt silly doing it now and wasting more of the time that they were quickly running out of. It had been late already when Hitomi had broken out of Paruchi's house, and it had taken them almost two hours to reach this part of the palace. By Van's reckoning, dawn was already four hours away, leaving them a very small window to drag a sick Ispano to Dryden's ship while trying to dodge every Sorcerer, custodian, and guard in the palace.

Well, she reasoned, not realizing that tiredness was making her impatient as well, it was his fault for being so irritable.

"Yes, it's safe. Follow me."

She opened the door and dashed around the next corner. Van followed closely behind her, his sword jangling at his hip. She slowed, and then stopped in front of a silver door. Alchemical symbols were carved along the trim.

"This is it," she breathed. The keys rattled in her hand.

Van snorted derisively. She knew just what he meant. The door, while serviceable, was a little too ostentatious for the rest of the laboratory complex. This was lucky in its own way; Hitomi was able to find the correct key on the first try. The flowery silver key topped with an alchemical symbol Hitomi didn't recognize turned smoothly in the lock, and they pushed the door open.

Though the lights in the small lab were lit, the room was empty. Hitomi knew it would be, but she still breathed a sigh of relief, and caught Van doing the same behind her.

"Well, we're here," she said.

"The Ispano is behind that door?" Van said, pointing to the heavy iron door opposite them.

Hitomi nodded. "I hope that he's okay..."

"It's a he?" Van said, sounding interested.

"At least I think it's a he. He said his name was Estreral."

"He told you his name?"

"Huh? Of course he did."

By this time, Hitomi was already trying keys and didn't catch the astounded look on Van's face.

"Here it is!" she announced as the fifth key in the ring turned with a dull CLUNK.

As if in response to the noise, a rattling sounded behind her. She stood up very fast and hid the keys behind her back as Van stepped in front of her, his hand on his sword. The door to the lab opened.

In stepped a tall young man with short brown hair and the black cloak of a sorcerer. The man stopped in his tracks and gaped at them. He was handsome in his own way, with large eyes and a very well-shaped nose. Hitomi could have sworn that she'd seen him somewhere before.

"What- what are you doing here?"

Van casually tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and addressed the newcomer. "Shut the door. Working late, Luca?"

_Luca_? Hitomi thought, peering over Van's shoulder to get a better look.

The man scratched the back of his neck and glanced nervously back at the door before shutting it as ordered. Then he turned his back to the closed door, and said, his voice trembling slightly, "Most of the apprentices do odd jobs into the night. It isn't unusual for me to be here. You, on the other hand..."

He trailed off into nervous laughter, and in Hitomi's head, something clicked.

Luca. Older brother of Gian, one of the custodial workers for the labs. The one Van had saved from being beaten to death by a fervent supporter of the late Emperor. She had met him, his brother, and his fellow apprentice Viktor the night she was kidnapped. He had been kind, but nervous. Not like his argumentative friend.

"It doesn't matter why we're here," Van insisted. "Turn around and forget you ever saw us. No one has to know."

Luca shifted his weight from left to right, and said, not looking at them, "You're here for the Ispano, aren't you?"

Van stiffened. "How did you-?"

"All the others are gone by now. He's the only one left."

"You mean other... Ispano?" she ventured.

He laughed again, high and nervous. "No. This and that. Animals. They've all been set free. This one's the only one that we- that Zaibach ever found."

Luca's voice seemed distant as he said that, as if he were describing something that he'd seen in a movie, or perhaps heard about from someone else. He gingerly laid the sheaf of papers he was carrying on the table near the door, his hands hovering delicately as dragonflies as they moved over the smooth black surface. Everything in his movements communicated to Hitomi that he thought of himself as separate from this subject.

Van clenched his jaw and growled, "You Sorcerers are disgusting. This Ispano is dying because of what you've done to him, and all you can say is that he's the only one you've managed to find, like he's some kind of collector's item?"

"Van, don't-"

"It's- it's not ideal, I admit, and-"

"Not ideal!?" Van spat, and this time he drew his sword.

"Please! Please, let me explain!" Luca begged, his hands held in front of him as if they would stop the swing of a sword. "I agree with you! I've been begging the masters to release it ever since it got sick! Please, don't hurt me!"

"Stop it, Van!"

At the sound of Hitomi's voice the sword twitched twice in his hand, and then his arm relaxed until the blade was pointing at the floor. Luca fell to his knees and put his hand over his heart, panting hard.

Sheathing his sword, Van said, "Once we get the Ispano out, we're leaving. You can help us or you can watch; it doesn't matter."

"What he means," Hitmoi said pointedly, "Is thank you for not running for the guards. Are you okay?"

Luca nodded, still panting. His face was stark white and he looked feeble and scared. She was suddenly very sorry for him. Being at the wrong end of Van's sword was sure to give anyone a heart attack. While Van was preoccupied with testing the weight of the cell door, she walked over to Luca, knelt next to him, and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "He wouldn't have hurt you, not really. It's just the war."

Nervous laughter once again escaped Luca's lips. "Believe me," he spat between breaths, "I've seen the results of the war."

She bit her lip. Something about his voice made her uneasy.

"Well," she said, standing up. "We're going to open the door now. Will you be okay?"

He didn't answer, but gave a jerky nod and remained slumped against the door. She had to content herself with that.

She stood again and made her way to Van. He was standing so that he could keep one eye on Luca while he worked

"You didn't have to overreact," she whispered.

Van shrugged irritably and said, "The door's heavy. Let me open it."

"I'm not going to make you do it alone," she said. "Come on, make room."

As she had done when leaping for the fire escape, she tied the keyring to her school scarf, which was still secured around her waist. Once they were secure, she gripped the door and pulled. Together with Van it wasn't nearly as heavy as it could have been, but it fought against them as they heaved, making an already difficult task nearly impossible. Without Van's help, she was sure that she woudn't have gotten it open in the first place. With a final screech of metal on stone, the door wrenched open.

The smell that wafted from the deep cell was rank, like rotted food and badly buried offal, but seemed several days old. Van peered into the dark, using his foot to keep the door from closing on them while Hitomi fanned in front of her face. Slowly, the stale odor began to dissipate as it escaped the dark room, until it was nothing but a memory.

"Estreral?" Hitomi called, stepping into the cell. "Are you still here?"

"Yes," the Ispano replied, his voice echoing weirdly on the close stone walls. "Estreral is here. Hitomi Kanzaki brought Van Fanel?"

Hitomi smiled, though she was sure that Estreral couldn't see her from where she was. "Yes. He's here to help. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, ready. Come, help to stand."

"I can't see you," she said as she walked toward the sound of his voice, her hands held in front of her. There wasn't even a window inside to let in the moonlight. She wondered whether that was a tactic to make the cell's occupants lose their sense of time, or perhaps to simply drain their hope away.

"Is dark," Estreral agreed.

When her foot kicked against something soft and solid, she knew that she'd found him. He was leaning against the corner in the furthest spot away from the door. She blindly reached for him and made contact with the cool flesh of his lower arm, then shifted her hand so she was gripping him by his shoulder, which was covered in a coarse cloth.

"I've got you. Can you stand at all?"

"Cannot stand. Please help, pull."

Hitomi braced herself and pulled on the Ispano's arm. He was surprisingly heavy for his size. She succeeded in lifting him five inches off the ground and nearly to his feet when her knees buckled from the pressure and she dropped him on the floor.

"Sorry," she said, rubbing her wrists. "You're heavier than I thought you'd be. Van! Could you come here and help me lift him?"

"Sure. Hold on. Hey, you," Van said in his most imperious tone, turning around to look at Luca, who was still slumped against the wall. "Hold the door for us."

Hitomi groaned, thinking in exasperation, iWhy can't he ask people nicely for things?/i

"...I warn you, I'm not very strong..." Luca mumbled as he took Van's place by the door.

"It won't be long," replied Van, curtly.

Luca mumbled something else indistinct, but accepted the task without further protest. Once Van was satisfied that the apprentice had the door, he retreated into the cell to take his place at the Ispano's other shoulder.

"You shouldn't have been so rude to him," Hitomi whispered.

She felt rather than saw him shrug at her in the darkness, and she rolled her eyes in response. She hated it when he shut himself down like this. It wasn't unexpected, she supposed, since he'd found out that someone he'd had civil relations with in the past had been colluding in the exploitation and torture of self-aware beings, but it was just so hard to get him to talk after these bursts of temper. He was the kind of person who got angry quickly and explosively, and then simmered about it for hours afterward. Most of the time it was out of embarrassment from his own behavior, but if he felt righteous about what he'd done, he'd stay righteously silent. She hoped very hard that this situation was the former; she didn't look forward to dealing with him for the next few hours otherwise.

"Ready?" she asked the Ispano.

He grunted in response, and they lifted him to his feet just as the door to the cell clanged shut.

It was like she couldn't move for a few seconds. The shock of what happened stole her voice, and the sound quelled the strength in her limbs to submission.

"Luca!" Van yelled. "What happened?"

"...sorry..." he mumbled. "I told you I wasn't very strong..."

Van made a disbelieving noise in his throat. "You had the door when I left you!"

"...lost my grip..."

"How could you have poss-!"

"Van, be quiet! There's no reason to get upset yet." Hitomi snapped, coming to her senses again. "Let's try the door, it might not have locked. Sorry," she added as she let the Ispano down to the floor.

Together, Hitmoi and Van pushed against the door, but it held fast. It was indeed locked. Hitomi wasn't entirely discouraged yet. She still had the keys. But a quick search revealed no keyholes from that side of the door.

"I could unlock it for you," Luca said, his voice wafting in through the slats in the door. "Pass me the key. I let you out, and then we're even, okay? I won't owe you anymore for saving my brother."

They didn't have a choice. After a few seconds of prodding on Hitomi's, Van agreed to Luca's terms. She then untied the keyring from her sash and passed they keys through the bars, into the apprentice's outstretched hand. His fingers were clammy against her own.

Once the keys were out of her hand, she knew that something was wrong.

"Thank you," Luca said, a nervous waver to his voice. The keys jingled steadily, sounding as if they were being passed from hand to hand. "You know, the information we've gathered from working with this specimen is invaluable."

"Luca, what-" Hitomi began, but he spoke over her, his voice raising in pitch until it was almost piercing.

"My master warned me that you might show up here if you got out. I honestly didn't think you'd be able to. No one's ever done it before," he said, with a little laugh. "It's lucky he had me working tonight."

"You sneaking little bastard! Let us out!" Van shouted, banging at the locked door, but Luca only continued his speech, as if he'd been practicing and was finally getting the chance to perform.

"We're just going to keep you for a few more days, until we can gather some more samples from you and complete our notes. All of you. It's for the good of the nation, the good of Gaea, that we understand how humans, Draconians, Ispano, and even people of the Mystic Moon function. One day one of your people could get sick and die because we don't know how to cure you yet. You'll be pioneers!"

"You don't know what you're doing!" Hitomi burst out. "You can't do this! It's not right!"

"It's for the good of the world," Luca repeated, as the lab door opened behind him. "Ah, Viktor."

"Good morning," a reedy voice replied. "May I ask what has been keeping you?"

"Help! Help us! Let us out!" Hitomi called, her voice cracking on the last syllable.

"Open this door or I'll have your head." Van commanded, his tone, in contrast, steady and dangerous.

"Ha! Not likely, with five inches of iron between us. I'll open it in three days time and send you home," Luca said. "I'll have kept my promise to let you out, and then we'll have nothing more between us."

"Luca, what is this?" Viktor asked. He seemed genuinely concerned, or as concerned as he could let on with such a naturally disdainful voice. Hitomi imagined that he was raising his eyebrows, his small hands clutched in front of him.

"It's nothing. I'll tell you when we get to the lab. Shall we go?"

"No! Please, don't go! Please! Let us out!" Hitomi cried. She was starting to panic, and hysteria was edging under her words. If Viktor didn't help them, there was no hope left. Van wouldn't make it to the summit, Fanelia would lose its precarious influence among the other countries, Basram would make a bid for more power without Fanelia there to argue against them, the other countries would fight it, and there would be another war. Or so her worst fears whispered to her.

"Of course..." Viktor said. The squeak of metal hinges as he opened the door was like a casket creaking shut.

"I thought you were a better man than this, Viktor," Van accused.

His voice rang unchallenged for a few seconds before Luca, with acid in every word, responded, "Him? Really? How stupid."

The he locked the door behind him.

"Why?" Hitomi sobbed, sliding down the door and collapsing onto her hands and knees. The floor covered her hands in black and brown filth, which stained her borrowed robes and her cheeks as she wiped her face. She felt as if the bottom had dropped out of her. How could things have been going so well, and then so badly?

There was a warm pressure on her back. Van, whom she had been expecting to be in a tight-lipped rage, had knelt beside her and placed is arm around her shoulders. That little tenderness when he must have been feeling even worse than her made her cry even harder, and she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder as he stroked her back.

"Don't touch your face. Here," he said, offering his shirt.

"T-to late," she said, with a weak laugh. "God, Van, I'm sorry."

"What for?" he said, as he calmly wiped the dirt off her face.

"For... you know... for dragging you into this."

She nodded towards the Ispano, who was still sitting where they'd dropped him, half-hidden in shadow. He showed no acknowledgment of her nod, and simply sat, as if listening for something. Her gaze lingered on his darkened face as she continued, "Now you'll... now Fanelia will..."

"Merle and Rhum can take care of Fanelia. And once those Sorcerers open the door again, my sword will get us out."

She turned away from the Ispano and watched Van meticulously clean her face. His voice, she noticed, was strangely calm. She had fully expected him to be sulking in anger, even punching the wall or (worst of all) yelling at her for involving him in her abortive rescue attempt. But he just stared at his work, his eyes dark and half-closed. Silent. He finished and sat back on his heels, moving those dark eyes of his to the grating on the door where light still streamed through.

Van wasn't mad. He was defeated.

It was then she realized that something far worse was going to result from their capture. She would have bet everything she had that it had to do with his deal with Adelphos. She was almost scared to say what she was going to say. She wasn't sure now if he would even tell her. Or if she would like the answer.

"Van. What did you promise the Regent you would do for Folken's body?"

"No promise," said the Ispano, making a strange hissing nose. "No promise. A price. Yes, Van Fanel?"

"Van?"

"...yes."

She could see it.

* * *

"Then I'll hear your terms," Van said.

Emperor Regent Adelphos smiled. His beard hid the lines on his face, which hid the true intentions of the gesture, but Van somehow got the sense that the grin was unpleasant. But Van stood his ground and stared at the much older man. He'd been trained to do this, and he wasn't going to falter now.

"I trust that you've been to the hospitals by now, eh Fanelia?"

"What?"

Adelphos spread his hands in an encompassing gesture. "Our soldiers. What would you say they look like?"

Confused, Van said, "They look like they've been in a war. How else are they supposed to look?"

Adelphos' eyes darkened. "No, Fanelia. Not them. The ones who fought a few days ago, on the front lines. Have you seen them?"

"I've seen them," Van confirmed. How could he not have?

"They look half-melted. They're young men, Fanalia. Some of them are younger than you. I look at them and I wonder what their families think. What their wives think. If they'll ever find wives, after this. And the land, well, you've seen the land."

Van was growing increasingly uncomfortable. What was Adelphos' point? That Zaibach had suffered as much as the countries that it had attacked? That people who go to war come back irreparably damaged? This was the kind of talk that was more suited to philosophers and doctors, not practical soldiers like the two of them. Everyone knew that once war was over, what remained was to take care of the living, not dwell on the atrocities of the past. In war, all people suffered.

"We're both soldiers," Van said, keeping his voice carefully level. "What's the point of all this?"

Adelphos steepled his fingers and gave Van a long, hard look. "There's a summit going on in Asturia. You Alliance dogs are arguing about how to punish us now that the war's over, but none of you took enough care to invite us to argue for ourselves."

"The summit was arranged by King Aston to assert Asturia's strength after the war," Van pointed out. "The other countries fell in line because they want a place by his ear. Asturia's always had rich coffers; that's enough of a reason for most of them to fall in line with whatever he says since they're all after aid. You can't blame them for not speaking for the country that betrayed their alliance and ravaged them in the first place."

"And you know as well as I that if they want to avoid war in the future they shouldn't kick us while we're down. You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Fanelia?"

His words had weight. Before Van was born; indeed, when his father had been a young man yet to become king, there was a border war between Deadalus and Fanelia. Fanelia had won the war and annexed a great part of Deadalus so that their borders extended all the way to the mountains, but since Deadalus had been the aggressor, the councilors of Fanelia had advised the king, Van's grandfather, to enact heavy sanctions as punishment. The other country's economy had been ruined. Prices had gone up so high that its citizens had been seen carting wheelbarrows of money around in the street to pay for enough food to get by during the week, and the beautiful stone and metal cities, renowned across Gaea for their art as well as their architecture, began to fall prey to looters. After ten years of this, Deadalus, in desperation, attacked Fanelia again, and the bustling trading village of Iniri had been completely decimated. Fanelia won again, but this time a wiser and more strong-willed king was in place. Van's father. Instead of punishing the desperate country yet again, he provided them with much-needed aid and offered to protect its borders while Deadalus rebuilt. Ever since, they had enjoyed a strong and lasting peace.

It was a good lesson, one oft repeated by Van's tutors. In politics, revenge will only create a lasting enemy. While aggression should never be rewarded, there was no dishonor in aiding those who had suffered the burdens of war.

It seemed such a simple lesson then. He wondered why his grandfather had done such a silly thing and made an enemy for his son to have to deal with. Now, he knew what it was to want revenge for a wronged and ruined people. And he knew how difficult it was to make the decision to not strike back.

"If we don't get any aid," Adelphos continued, "We're going to get very desperate very quickly. Your Alliance destroyed our bread basket. We'll run out of our surplus in less than a year. When we do, we'll have no choice but to go to war again."

"You'll lose," Van shot back.

"You'd be surprised at how people will fight for food, especially when they've got a competent commander. The fact remains, however, that we'll have no other choice. Zaibach will feed herself or die trying."

"Unless?"

"Unless someone argues at the summit on our behalf," Adelphos deadpanned.

Van narrowed his eyes. "You want me to persuade the Alliance to provide aid to Zaibach."

"If Fanalia does it, it'll have more weight with the others, considering your position in the war. Especially Asturia."

Van breathed very slowly in an effort to control his emotions. "That's your price?"

"No," Adelphos said shortly. "I know the Alliance is only voting on which countries will receive loans for rebuilding and on who gets a bigger percentage of the vote in three months, when you decide on sanctions against us. I'm only asking you to consider it, for the sake of peace, from one old soldier to another. Besides, if you say yes and I give you Folken now, who's to say you won't just take him and run? No, I've got another price."

A bad feeling welled up in Van's chest. "What?"

"I want you to tell me which country dropped the energist on Zaibach."

Van stood up, knocking his chair over in the process. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Adelphos said, his voice low and silky. "There's no reason for you not to. Our intelligence will find out sooner or later. This way, you get your brother's body back and I don't have to spend money on spies."

"How could I possibly tell you that!?" Van shouted. "You're just going to go after them the moment you get back on your feet!"

"Or I'll go after the whole Alliance when we run out of food instead of just attacking the people most responsible for our starvation, and I'll give your brother's body to the Sorcerers."

"How dare you," Van growled, his fists balled at his sides. He had half a mind to whip out his sword and retaliate in blood, but he stayed his hand for Fanelia's sake. "Using a dead man for a bargaining chip."

"He's the only one we've got," Adelphos shot back. "You'd damn well do the same if it was your people on the line."

"You don't know _anything_ about what I would do."

"I'm a practical man, Fanelia," Adelphos said, finally raising his voice. "A soldier. And I will do what it takes to ensure the future of my men and my people, no matter what it takes. Now do we have a deal?"

"No," Van said. "I won't betray my allies. I'll do anything else you want, but if I'm going to be a good King to my people, I need my actions to reflect the honor I was raised to represent."

"Then we're at an impasse, and I have no further reason to speak with you."

"Wait!" Van said. He sat back down again and pulled his chair close to Adelphos' desk. "I'm willing to make another deal with you. Will you hear my terms?"

This couldn't end now. Not after Hitomi disappeared. Not after how Folken had sacrificed himself. Not now.

The former General grunted in disbelief. "What could you possibly offer us, Fanelia? You're just as broken as we are."

"I'll argue for you at the summit. I'll speak with Dryden and the rest and we'll get Asturia on your side. You have my word that I'll do this for you."

"Your word isn't worth a damn to me," Adelphos spat. "Unless you can give me one compelling reason why I shouldn't throw your brother to the butchers, get out of my sight and let me tend to my people."

"Fine. If I don't speak for you at the summit, I'll give you what you ask. Send someone to me or come yourself."

There was a long pause as Adelphos leaned back in his seat, his arms across his chest in a mirror of Van's earlier attitude. He was sure that he'd demonstrated that he wasn't one to break promises in his actions both here and on the battlefield, but he didn't know how much that would matter to a man like Adelphos. Van wished that he could read people's thoughts like Hitomi could on occasion so he would know exactly what he had to do to get his brother's body back. Had he done enough?

"If you're lying, Fanelia, you'll be the one we attack first in a year's time," he finally said. "We have a deal."

* * *

Around her, things snapped into focus as the vision vanished. The first thing she saw was Van, leaning against the wall with his sword rested on his shoulder. He wasn't looking at her. She got the impression that he was avoiding her, and it squeezed at her heart.

"Van..."

How long had it been since they were trapped in that cell? An hour? Two? When she was in the midst of a vision, time passed differently for her. Was it dawn already? Had Dryden left for Asturia without them?

"Morning," said Estreral. "Airships leave."

"No," she breathed. "It can't end like this. I won't let it."

"You can't do anything, Hitomi," Van said. "Not unless you can change people's hearts or stop time."

Unable to stop them, frustrated tears spilled over and slid down her face. "Don't give up, Van. Please."

"What the hell should I do?" Van snapped.

Started, she flinched back. "I don't know! I just hate seeing you like this! You've never given up before! As long as we're alive, there's still hope!"

"Every light matter," Estreral whispered.

"I wish I could believe you," said Van.

"Why don't you!?" she yelled, standing up and glaring at him. He was making her angry now. "Answer me!"

He got to his feet as well and glared right back at her. "Because I can't think of a way out of this that doesn't involve me betraying my Allies and dishonoring myself. You don't know anything about what this means to me. You've never known. Stop lecturing me like you understand."

"Then why don't you tell me what it means!?" she shouted, hurt. "You don't have to shoulder your burden alone!"

"How could I possibly-"

"Someone comes," Estreral cut in. "Quiet."

He was right. Now that they weren't shouting at each other, they could hear footsteps that approached the door to the lab and then stopped in front of it. There was even a rattle of keys as the person selected the right one and inserted it into the door. Hitomi's breath froze, thinking of Paruchi and what he would do to her after what she'd done to him in order to escape.

"Van," she whispered, going to him and gripping his arm. "What's going to happen now?"

"I'll protect you no matter what happens. Stay behind me."

The door opened once more.

* * *

A/N: Did you ever notice how it's way easier to write when you're taking in other stories at the same time? Shows and fanfiction seem to count just as much as books. Man! I'm going to keep doing this! Now if I could only learn how to write humor I might be going places.

Thank you as always.

Next chapter preview:

_The chills passing through Hitomi's body had nothing to do with the temperature. Paruchi? On his way now? They could probably overpower him with Van's sword alone, but if she knew his methods at all, she was certain that he wouldn't come alone. Who knows how many mercenaries he had lined up to support him? _

...

_In the light, Hitomi could clearly see that the Ispano's skin was a dark bluish green, made up of thousands of tiny scales that blended together like snakeskin. The underside of his arms was lighter and softer than the rest of his skin, being a peachy white that ended just before his calloused, clawed hand._


	18. Ark of the Sky

Chapter 18 - Ark of the Sky

Zaibach was known for its cold dawns. Most citizens agreed that it was the coldest part of the day, the very last second of night before the sun crept over the horizon and began heating the cobbled streets. Dryden Fassa could see his breath in front of his face as he stood on the observation deck, staring out towards the great palace in the center of the city. He hadn't slept that night, and his body was feeling it as he pulled his cloaks in for warmth and shivered against the cold.

A few hours ago he thought he'd seen something peculiar. For a split second, a figure with wings was illuminated by the palace lights before disappearing again into the dark. He wasn't a simple man, so he'd gathered fairly quickly that the figure must have been Van flying to the rescue of a certain damsel in distress. He'd allowed himself to be relieved at that sight - surely Van and Hitomi would be returning to the ship shortly, and they could take off for Asturia together without having to deal with the messy business of leaving anybody behind. He'd gone so far as to make one of his more relaxing herb infusions so that they could go to sleep more easily when they returned.

Since then, it had gone cold in the kettle.

Now, with the breeze from the slipstream tossing his ponytail to and fro, he stared regretfully at the capital as it slowly vanished from sight. The sun would be rising soon. There was no use in brooding over how he wished things could have gone.

"I'll see you in Asturia. Don't let me down, now; I can't afford to mope about a couple of stupid kids for the rest of my life. It'd be bad for company morale."

The rim of the sun edged over the distant mountains, in Dryden's eyes, like the crest of Millerna's golden hair.

* * *

Hitomi gripped Van's arm so hard as the door to the lab clanged shut that he winced. He bore it like the warrior he was, however, and only begged her to let go in his mind.

Someone had definitely entered the room. There was the shuffling of robes punctuated by footsteps as the person approached the cell door and fumbled with the keys. Curiously, it also sounded like he was wheeling something behind him. Van tensed, ready to strike if he had to, and moved so that Hitomi and the Ispano were blocked from view. The key turned in the lock with a dull thunk. With a deep grunt, the person tugged at the door, and it slowly swung open. Van assumed a battle stance and prepared to lunge.

"You needn't point that thing at me, you know," said a sour, nasal voice. "I've only risked my entire career to help you."

"Viktor!" Hitomi cried, releasing Van's abused arm and stepping out from behind him, a smile gracing her features. "You really came for us!"

"Yes, well. Unlike Luca, I'm not beholden to a butcher like Paruchi. My master has me focusing on more important matters. Come; I've brought a cart we can use to transport the Ispano."

Van narrowed his eyes and didn't relax his stance. "Where _is_ Luca?"

"I drugged him and left him drooling over his parchment," Viktor sniffed. "You don't have much time if you want to leave without being spotted. I suggest you not waste time with questions."

"Why? So you can trick us into cooperating and drop us off at the next dungeon?"

"Because the butcher is on his way and I'm rather sure that anything I can offer you will be far better than the alternative. Now. Shall we continue or shall I simply shut this door again?"

"He comes close," said the Ispano.

The chills passing through Hitomi's body had nothing to do with the temperature. Paruchi? On his way now? They could probably overpower him with Van's sword alone, but if she knew his methods at all, she was certain that he wouldn't come alone. Who knows how many mercenaries he had lined up to support him? Viktor seemed to share her fear; he was glancing at the door every other second, and his already pale face was a shade paler than normal. This was no time to argue.

Placing her hand lightly on Van's outstretched sword arm, she said, "Van, please. I think we can trust him. Let's go."

Van seemed to concede to her words but didn't lower his sword before saying, "I'm warning you, Viktor. If you try anything I won't hesitate."

"I'll make a note of it," he replied through gritted teeth. "Now would you _please_ hurry."

Finally, Van sheathed his sword and joined Hitomi on the other side of the Ispano. Together, they got him to his feet and led him to the low cart, which Viktor said was usually meant to transport heavy equipment from lab to lab. Estreral climbed in and laid down.

In the light, Hitomi could clearly see that the Ispano's skin was a dark bluish green, made up of thousands of tiny scales that blended together like snakeskin. The underside of his arms was lighter and softer than the rest of his skin, being a peachy white that ended just before his calloused, clawed hand. The rest of the Ispano was covered by the hooded brown cloak that they usually wore, save for his feet and the bottom of his face. His feet splayed at the toe and ended in claws, and his jaw was lizard-like, but with long whiskers raying out from the cheeks and a distinct lack of chin. For some reason, he had been allowed to keep his five-lensed workers' glasses. Hitomi had a funny feeling that the only reason they were still there was that they weren't removable to begin with.

Hitomi removed the robe she'd been wearing for the past few days, apologized, and lay it over Estreral.

"Will you be okay under there?" she whispered.

"Yes," he replied. She waited to see if he would say anything else, but he remained silent.

"Well, I guess he's ready to go. How about everyone else?"

Van's arms were crossed over his chest and he looked tense and unhappy, but he nodded.

"Let's go, Viktor," she said.

The little-used passages he directed them to kept them hidden, and he was able to diffuse any potential confrontation by weight of his status as apprentice Sorcerer. After all, why would a man of his station be freeing prisoners? The thought most likely never once crossed their minds. Therefore, with the benefit of longtime familiarity and intimate knowledge of the staff, Viktor was able to lead them to the nearest exit within half an hour.

"Hold here," Viktor whispered.

They halted just beyond the last narrow doorway, through which multiple voices could be heard.

"What is it?" whispered Hitomi, peering over her hands, which were resting on Van's arm.

"It might be nothing. I'll return in a moment."

"What are you doing?" Van asked, frowning.

"Trust me," Viktor said, and disappeared through the door.

It was a few miets later that he returned, his forehead shiny with sweat. Hitomi knew immediately that something was wrong.

"It's Paruchi, isn't it?" she said.

Viktor nodded slowly. "I didn't recognize him at first; there's a bandage wrapped around his head. He wouldn't say what did it, but he stationed six guards at the entrance before he bid me good morning. I'd suggest using another exit, but that's the only one on this side of the building. If we wanted to find another, we'd have to go through them."

"So we have to wait it out," Van said, his voice harsh.

"I fail to see any other option."

Without replying, Van pushed past Viktor and opened the door to see for himself. Indeed; it appeared that he had been telling the truth. Six guards stood at various strategic intervals around the room, one stationed a hair's breadth away from Van's nose. For a tense moment Van was sure that the guard would sense him, but the guard in question was busily engaged in picking his own nose, and was apparently so absorbed in the task that he didn't hear the door click softly closed behind him.

"Satisfied?" Viktor whispered, haughtily pursing his lips.

Instead of taking offense at his companion's attitude, Van straightened up, a weight seemingly disappearing from his entire bearing. He moved his hand from the hilt of his sword for the first time since they loaded the Ispano onto the pull-cart. He was still a little on guard, Hitomi could tell, but Viktor's return to them after having run into one of his bosses was enough for Van to at least start to trust him.

"I could probably overpower them. I've dealt with worse in the past," said Van.

"We'll never be able to outrun a bunch of guards with Estreral in tow," Hitomi said, biting her lip.

"Yeah," Van said, absently.

"I suppose I've lived a productive life, probing the mysteries of the microscopic universe," Viktor was muttering to himself. "My trial, I hope, will be a fair one before they commit me to the catacombs..."

"Roof," Estreral said from under Hitomi's robe.

She looked at the others for a second before tentatively saying, "But Estreral, they'll corner us up there."

"Then we fly. Yes?"

Hitomi bit her lip and glanced at Van, unsure whether she should correct him and reveal to Viktor that Van was a Draconian, or try to find some other reason to rebuff the Ispano's suggestion. Her mind was coming up blank. There was a chance that he knew already, through Luca, but she didn't want to take that chance and reveal Van's secret without his consent.

"Trust Estreral," said the Ispano.

Could she? Hitomi looked around at her companions. Van was looking thoughtfully at the Ispano, while Viktor was staring at him incredulously. She was probably on Viktor's side at this point. True, the Ispano had never shown cause to make her think him simple, but what he was suggesting was ludicrous. She knew very well how easy it was to get cornered on a roof. She didn't know if she'd be able to even work up the energy to jump to another rooftop, if that was what they were going to have to do to escape. She was so very tired.

"Okay," Van said. "Viktor, do you know a way to the roof?"

"Of course I know a way to the roof. But surely you're not suggesting that we _follow_ this advice?"

"Yes, I am. If we keep moving there's less of a chance that we'll be found once they figure out we've escaped since they'll all head for the door. I don't see any other way. Do you? Viktor, Hitomi?"

Hitomi sighed, and then smiled. "You're right, Van. Let's trust Estreral."

She reached out to him and took his hand in hers, squeezing it. He responded in kind, flashing her a rare smile, all animosity from their earlier fight forgotten.

"Viktor," Van said, turning to the sallow-faced man. "You've been a good guide to us, but you don't have to risk your life and follow us to the roof. Go back to work and no one will need to know you got us out."

The apprentice Sorcerer snorted. "As tempting as your offer may be, I would never forgive myself if I didn't satisfy my intellectual curiosity about what this Ispano has planned. Besides, any idiot could figure out that I was the only one who could have knocked out that brown-nosing idiot Luca. And you don't know where the freight lifter is."

"Viktor!" Hitomi said, smiling at him.

"What's a freight lifter?" said Van, his eyebrows furrowed.

"It's a machine that lifts things from floor to floor," said Viktor with an impatient sigh. "Now follow me or you'll get hopelessly lost and I won't be to blame for the consequences."

"Wheels move," whispered Estreral.

Taking the lead, Viktor kept ten paces ahead of them in order to act as a barrier against potential encounters. It was a tense journey. Every noise was the sound of a guard around the corner, and every movement was a guard leaping at them from the shadows. Once again he kept to the back hallways, which were so thick with dust Hitomi kept sneezing and startling her companions.

"Sorry," she said for the fifth time, and then added, "I'm a little allergic to dust."

"Allergic?" whispered Van, one eyebrow raised.

She cringed. "It's complicated. I'll tell you later."

"Quiet," Viktor hissed, holding his hand out. The swish of his cloak as he did that stirred up more dust, causing Hitomi's eyes to water and itch. She was so distracted by her own discomfort that she didn't quite hear the sound of several heavy footsteps coming from somewhere nearby.

"Someone's coming," murmured Van. "A large group, all wearing heavy boots. They're heading perpendicular to us; they might pass us by if we keep still and quiet. Everyone stay low. I'll keep watch."

"Van, be careful," she whispered, and he squeezed her hand in response before moving ahead of Viktor and hiding himself in the shadows closest to the next hallway.

Five seconds later, ten soldiers filed past. Hitomi held her breath and willed them to keep looking directly in front of themselves. If so much as one took a good look down the dark hallway they'd be discovered, and who knew if Van could fight them all off before reinforcements arrived. Van held his ground, his hands poised to unsheathe his sword the moment they were spotted. She watched as Viktor began blinking rapidly, the sweat from his forehead pooling in his eyes and causing them to itch. His fingers twitched in irritation.

_Don't move_ Hitomi silently pleaded.

She saw him swallow hard and press his fingers into the wall in an effort to control himself.

_Come on, Viktor, you can do it. I believe in you!_

The last soldier filed past the door and his footsteps faded away until they were only echoes.

Van relaxed, nodded at the others, and whispered, "All clear."

With obvious relief, Viktor wiped the sweat out of his eyes and said, "The freight lift is just ahead. As long as we don't have any other incidents like that one we should be there in about ten miets. How is the Ispano faring?"

"Ah, I think he's fine," Hitomi said.

There was a brief shake of a body part from under the robe, which Hitomi took as silent confirmation. Quickly, they dashed across the open hallway, keeping silent as they could with a cart dragging behind them, until they reached a black set of double doors. Viktor pulled a strangely-shaped key from one of the pockets of his cloak and inserted it into a hidden panel in the wall. In the distance above, she could hear the sound of grinding machinery.

"It's coming," whispered Viktor. "Be ready to get in when you hear the signal?"

"What signal?" Van asked.

There was a metallic THUNK and then Van's question was unceremoniously answered.

"SCR-EEE! SCR-EEE! SCR-EEE! SCR-EEE! SCR-EEE!" went the black doors as they slid open, the intermittent buzzing and screeching noise as carrying as a scream.

"What's happening!?" Van yelled over the noise.

"It's a failsafe to warn people to steer clear of the shaft!" Viktor replied, his hands clamped over his ears.

When the doors were completely open, the jarring noise stopped, and Hitomi removed her fingers from her ears only to be greeted with a far more unpleasant sound: the heavy trotting of approaching boots. It had to be the group of soldiers that had just passed by.

Van swore loudly and pulled Hitomi and the cart into the freight lift. "Make this thing move. Now!"

"Not a problem," Viktor assured them through gritted teeth. With practiced hands, he selected one of the many multicolored and different sized levers, gave it a tug, and started the process that would shut the doors. The alarm began wailing once more.

"Can't you make this thing move without closing the doors!?" Van yelled.

"Unfortunately for us, the designers of this system were more concerned with safety than outrunning the staff!"

Hitomi could now see a small group of guards and even custodians running at them from the hallway ahead. The doors were a little more than halfway closed, and she couldn't even see if anyone was coming from the other two directions.

"They're getting closer!" she moaned.

"Like hell they are," growled Van, unsheathing his sword and positioning himself in front of the slowly closing doors.

"Van, be careful!"

The doors were three quarters closed when the first person caught up to them; a custodian robed in blue. At the sight of Van, however, he hung back. Unarmed, he didn't have a chance. Instead, he shouted something to the people behind him, one of which was a guard. The guard said something in return to the custodial worker, who nodded and dashed off somewhere to complete whatever errand he'd been charged with.

"Come on!" Van shouted.

The guard yelled something inaudible under the klaxons, pulled out his own short sword, and struck. Van met the blow with as much force and skill as he'd shown on the battlefield and pushed the guard backward, and he stumbled, but didn't fall. Once the man regained his footing he repeated his aggressive thrust, this time with the blade pointed at Van's face. Van knocked the blade away and quickly sliced at the guard's hand. He dropped his sword and, wringing his hand, yelled for backup. Several blue-robed men gathered around him at this point.

The door was nearly closed. It was certainly too small for anyone to sword-fight through, but there was still the possibility of someone slipping inside. Hitomi bit her lip. Now the door was only big enough for a head to fit through. Then she saw him.

Paruchi, his head wrapped in a linen bandage stained rusty red-brown, stepped into view. But instead of glowering at them or yelling at people to get aboard the elevator, he just looked at Hitomi. She was partially hidden behind Van, but he only had eyes for her. She stepped backward and met his gaze as firmly as she could with a stare that could rival one of Van's worst scowls. Then, he did the most unsettling thing she'd seen in a long time.

He smiled. He smiled, and pointed up.

It was the last thing she saw before the doors shut with a sound like two guymelefs ramming into one another.

"He knows where we're going," she said, and hugged herself, shivering.

"Well, let's hope that this Ispano knows what he's doing. Going up," said Viktor, pulling the largest of the levers all the way down to the floor.

There was a lurch that caused Hitomi to grab at the wall for support, and then a sensation as if her stomach had dropped away as the lift began to rise.

"Are you okay, Hitomi?" Van said, after he'd regained his balance.

"I think so," she said. "How about you?"

Van made a derisive nose. "I doubt that guard's seen any action outside of exhibition tournaments. If everyone in the palace is like him, we'll be fine."

He sheathed his sword once more and leaned against the wall. "We should rest while we can."

"Yeah, you're right," she said, and took up position next to him, her weight resting on the wall and her arm touching his down to his elbow. Since she wasn't wearing her school coat, seeing as she'd left it aboard Dryden's ship, she could feel the warmth of his skin very clearly through her thin blouse. She wanted to take his hand very badly, but it was out of reach since his arms were crossed over his chest. Their earlier shouting match was starting to resurface in her thoughts as well.

_...You don't know anything about what this means to me. You've never known. Stop lecturing me like you understand."_

_"Then why don't you tell me what it means!?" she shouted, hurt. "You don't have to shoulder your burden alone!"_

She cringed at the memory, and glanced at Van. His eyes were closed. She wished sometimes the he'd be less insistent that he be the only one to deal with things. It was honorable of him, she supposed, but that was the problem. He was too hung up on being honorable and sparing his lady's feelings than sharing his worries with her. What he didn't know was that she'd have been glad to listen to anything bothering him, to help him feel better, to help bear his responsibilities with him so he wouldn't crushed under the weight of them all.

She yawned. She was so tired. It was almost 24 hours since she'd last slept, not counting the time she'd spent in her vision. Without thinking about it, her head drooped to the side until it was resting on van's shoulder. He was as warm as his arm. It was nice resting there, breathing in his scent. But what made it perfect was when he rested his cheek on the crown of her head. She'd missed him so much.

It didn't last long. With a sudden jolt the freight lift came to a halt and they broke apart.

"Let's not wait until the doors are open all the way," Van said. "As soon as the opening's wide enough, we make a run for it. We don't have any time to lose."

"Agreed," said Viktor, pulling the lever that would open the doors.

"We're almost there," Hitomi said to Estreral. "You can take off that robe if you like."

"No. Will wait," the Ispano replied.

The same siren as before screamed throughout the hallway. Viktor stood in front of the door, and when it was just wide enough to admit the pull-cart, slipped through. Hitomi followed, and Van brought up the rear, pulling Estreral behind him. They didn't stop running as they turned several tight corners before coming to a long and narrow hallway, which ended in a single door. The roof!

They were almost to it when someone shouted, "Halt!"

Hitomi chanced a glance over her shoulder and saw three guards at the end of the hallway.

Viktor swore. He slammed into the door rather than slow himself down and then pushed it open. Morning air spilled all around them, smelling like rain and smoke and thin mountain wind.

"Get something to barricade the door!" Van yelled as he slammed it behind him.

"Cart, use cart," the Ispano gasped, rolling off said device. He slammed hands and knees on the hard roof and began heaving.

"Estreral!" Hitomi exclaimed. She ran to his side. "What is it? What's wrong?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he made a strangled noise as he dry heaved.

"Something's wrong with Estreral!" she shouted to the others.

And then In an explosion of splinters, Van and Viktor were both thrown backwards, from the door as it was kicked into splinters. There was a great deal of dust for a few seconds and no one could see who or what was coming through the ruins. The first thing Hitomi saw was the hazy outline of a man. The second was a black cloak. The third was a shiny bald head.

No.

"St-stay away from him!" Hitomi yelled, throwing herself between Paruchi and the Ispano.

More guards than she could count flooded onto the roof, surrounding the small group. Van got to his feet and drew his sword, but even he had no chance against such a number of men.

Paruchi took a step forward. "It sounds ill. Wouldn't you agree, Viktor?"

Proud, haughty Viktor was lying propped on one elbow, trembling. His lips moved, but he couldn't seem to form words. Next to him, the Ispano gave an especially horrible heave and the contents of his belly spilled out onto the roof.

"Come any closer and you won't have a head," Van snarled.

"Ah, but if you succeed in your threat, my guards will kill you all where you stand. And you wouldn't want your friends to die, would you, Your Majesty?"

Again, the Ispano began to dry heave. What was wrong with him?

Van tensed and swallowed, but stood firm. "Not if they can't get through me."

"Come now. We both know that in this case numbers outweigh skill," Paruchi said, bowing his head in Van's direction.

"Try me," Van spat.

"Van..." said Hitomi.

She wanted badly to stand with him, but Estreral's condition was taking up most of her attention. His vomit contained something that disturbingly reminded her of blood, though it was opaque and white, like thick cream. If he was coughing up blood this violently, then she didn't know if there was anything they could do to save him, even if they did get out of this.

"I would appreciate it if you would lower your sword. You will be treated well. Your accommodations will be lavish. I will release you within a week, and will perform nothing more invasive than a simple biopsy. These small sacrifices on your part will do immeasurable good in the name of medical knowledge, for the Peoples of Gaea, Atlantis, and the Mystic Moon. And you, Viktor. I am willing to forgive this transgression on your part," he said, extending his hand in the younger man's direction. "Come, I have been watching the progress of your research with my colleague Garufo. I am most anxious to have you on my team."

"G- go- go t-to hell!" said Viktor.

While Paruchi was speaking, Estreral made one last, hideous heave and vomited again, but this time, instead of a splash there was a thunk. Confused, Hitomi tried to look more closely, but Estreral was bent over his vomit and... digging through it?

"Ah. Well. What of you, Miss Kanzaki? You can, of course, attest to the generosity of my hospitality."

"What are you saying!?" Hitomi yelled, standing up and staring him in the face. "I- we, we aren't anything to you! We may as well be pigs that you're going to eat later! Look at what you've done to Estreral! He's dying because of you!"

"The Ispano was too dissimilar to humans in order for me to care for it properly. It would not eat, nor would it tell what it could eat. Its condition is its own fault."

"So why didn't you let it go!? Didn't you care that he was dying? You're no better than... than... a murderer!"

Paruchi laughed. "I, my lady, am a man of science. We all understand that some sacrifices must be made for the greater good. Guards, if you will."

He motioned with his hand and the guards drew their swords.

"Van."

Hitomi looked at him, and he was ready to fight for them. Even Viktor was on his feet now, raising his trembling fists, but she only had eyes for Van. Her first real love, her best friend, standing with poise and grace, his muscles taut against his skin and his jaw clenched, dirty and exhausted and angry but oh so beautiful. What if this was their last moment together? What if they were about to die, without... without ever...

Then a light brighter than any electric lamp in Zaibach burst into the sky from behind them.

The guards raised their hands over their faces and most of them stepped back in confusion, while Paruchi flung his arm in front of his face and nearly disappeared into the palace again. Even Van and Viktor squinted questioningly at the sky. Hitomi, however, whipped around with renewed hope. High above his head, Estreral was holding a small device that Hitomi had only seen once before, on a certain ship the day Van was overcome by Escaflowne's injuries.

A wonderful blue light pierced the sky and fell around them like water, excluding all but the people in the center of the circle, and a ship bigger than any known on Gaea ponderously broke through a hole in the sky.

"What's going on?" said Van.

"It's them!" Hitomi cried, her hands clasped in relief.

"Who?" Viktor asked.

"My people come." Estreral said in a voice more terrible than anyone had dreamed him capable. Though he was in a sitting position, propping his weight on his free arm, he looked almost godlike with that green light pouring from his outstretched hand.

"Sorcerer. You leave now. You leave Zaibach. You never return. Run, Sorcerer. Run forever or we find you. We make you pay. Ispano do not forget. Ispano always collect debt. You leave."

The Ispano ship was so close to the roof now that it looked as if it could be touched. This was too much for the guards. As one, they scattered and made a rush for the door, giving the Ispano a wide berth.

"Fools!" Paruchi was heard to shout. "It can't hurt you, it's too- aargh!"

Whatever he was trying to say was lost under the roar of countless bodies shoving him into the bowels of the palace.

"Move, friends," said Estreral.

Everyone quickly obliged, and a platform descended from the ship, coming to rest at their feet.

"Did you swallow that?" Hitomi asked, pointing to the suddenly darkened signal in Estreral's hand.

"When captured," he confirmed.

"I'm coming with you," Viktor insisted, climbing onto the platform after everyone else. "I've nothing left here, and no family in the world besides a younger brother with a captaincy and his own ship, and I doubt I have a career in the military. Besides, I'll never have another opportunity like this again."

"What do you mean?" asked Hitomi.

"Studying with the Ispano! By the Emperor, child, I thought even a simpleton like you could see that."

"Hey," said Van, warningly, but Hitomi only laughed.

"Come," said Estreral. Payment awaits."

"Payment?" said Van as they boarded the platform.

"Everything has price."

Hitomi and Van looked at each other, and then at Viktor. He shrugged and looked away, as if to say, "if you must."

"So," Van said. "How long would it take us to get to Asturia?"

* * *

The Asturian streets were cool and misty in the pre-dawn light. Merle shivered; she'd never really liked the cold, though she could put up with it when she absolutely must. Why Eiru the cat man always insisted on such early hours to set up their table was beyond her. People wouldn't even start showing up for at least an hour after they finished laying things out for the day. She'd have preferred a good nap. Still, once they were done and the rest of the market started flooding in, it was sort of nice to sit and chat and watch the day unfold.

She waved to Eiru the ginger-haired catman from across the square. He waved back, followed by his twin girls, who dashed up to Merle and latched onto either arm in a gleeful hug.

A few miles away, in the Noble's Aerie on the outskirts of the city, Celena Schezar was yawning herself awake. She was so comfortable in her bed that she very much wanted to just go back to sleep, but the annoying clanging noise coming from the yard was enough to wake the dead. She turned over in her half-sleep to see something like a golden blur attacking a nearby tree. This sight was strange enough that she was able to jerk herself fully awake. Her eyes quickly slid into focus and the blur solidified into the familiar mass of her brother Allen.

With methodical grace, Allen struck at the trunk of an old, thick, and extremely scarred tree. He was practicing, she realized as she pulled on her robe. Grinning, she tightened the belt on her robe, grabbed the newly-sheathed sword she'd won from the Basramian mercenary, and ran to join her brother. If she had to take etiquette lessons, she was damn well going to get him to teach her the sword. And this time she would master it for real, without having to depend on Dilandau to take over every time she was in danger.

In the palace, the Princess Millerna threw back the shutters to her bedroom and breathed in the morning air. In the man chambers of her quarters, the Princess Eries paused for a moment in her studies over yesterday's minutes of the council meeting to watch a bird's progress across the courtyard.

And then something happened all of Asturia. A white light grew from the heavens and the Ispano factory mothership appeared in the Asturian sky.

In the market, Merle dropped the tablecloth, gasped, and her face split into a huge grin. In the palace, Millerna clapped her hands to her mouth and Eries blinked owlishly at something she couldn't have possibly predicted. In the Noble's Aerie, Allen and Celena stopped in the midst of their argument and gazed openmouthed at what had just appeared above their heads.

Of the two, it was Allen who recovered first. He smiled softly and put his hand on his sister's shoulder, all the while looking almost fondly at the monolith dominating his view of the dawn.

"Hitomi," he whispered.

* * *

A/N: This was done last night, but for some reason Fanfiction dot net was being stupid, and wouldn't let me submit documents due to a glitch. Oh well. Let me know if you like how things have turned out so far. There's still more chapters to come, but they'll be focused less on action and more on relationships.

Thank you for reading as always!

Preview for chapter 18:  
_He was back to being a teenager again. She was amazed that he could handle going through so many changes in demeanor. One second he was the responsible King, then the sullen teenager, and the next a passionate and repentant young lover, something he was just learning how to be. Here he was, earnestly staring her in the eye with her hand clasped to his chest, trying to apologize for mentioning something that worried her just as much as it worried him. He was tender. He was awkward. He was clumsy. But most of all, he was trying his best, for her._

She loved him for it. 


	19. Adolescence

Chapter 19 - Adolescence

The unexpected arrival of the Ispano factory mothership in Asturia didn't cause nearly as much uproar as one would have expected. For one thing, it had arrived in the very early morning, hours before most of the merchant city had even risen to begin re-counting their coffers and opening up shop for the day. Secondly, it disappeared almost as soon as it arrived, stopping just long enough to hover over the palace and drop two very tired people off on the castle steps. Lastly, no one stupid enough to order an attack on the intruders was awake. Therefore, the strange phenomenon passed without incident, save for the decidedly uncommon sight of Princess Millerna dashing down the front steps in her nightclothes.

"Hitomi! Van!" she called, as she ran towards them with outstretched arms.

"Millerna!"

Hitomi let go of Van's hand and dashed toward her friend, and they collided together in a hug.

"Thank Jichia you're not hurt!" she said, releasing Hitomi and holding her at arm's length. "Oh, you two look awful. What have you been doing to yourselves? Your eyes are bloodshot and you've got dark circles under them. I can't _believe_ you got into so much trouble in Zaibach. Come inside right now and let me examine you."

"Millerna..." Hitomi said, half-fondly, half-exasperated.

"Shh, don't exert yourself. Come with me."

"Princess, please," Van said. "We've been up all night. We don't need an examination; we need sleep."

Millerna turned and faced him, her hands on her hips, every inch the stern doctor. "Of course you need to rest. But there's no way I'm going to let you go to bed without making sure that you won't die in your sleep."

"But we're not hurt," Hitomi pleaded. "Right, Van? Tell her."

"I give you my word as King of Fanelia that we're completely uninjured," Van solemnly promised, causing the corners of Hitomi's mouth to twitch.

"Well..." Millerna faltered, biting her lip. "I suppose I could examine you after you wake up..."

"We promise!" Hitomi said, nodding fervently.

The Princess sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay. Just remember when you wake up to come see me."

"Thank you, Millerna!" Hitomi said, hugging her again. Then she pulled back from Millerna and shot Van a sly smile. "Race you to bed?"

Millerna's arched one eyebrow so high that it could have supported masonry.

With a low chuckle, Van replied, "Are you sure you can keep up with me?"

"Don't mess with an athlete!" Hitomi proclaimed, and took off running before Van could even blink.

"H- Hey!! Wait!" he shouted, running after her disappearing form and leaving Millerna bewildered in their mingled dust.

"Just... just eat something before you go to bed!" she yelled after them. "Get the servants to at least bring you some bread and soup! Hitomi, are you listening to me!? Ugh. Tired, they said. When they come for their checkup, I'm using the _rectal_ thermometer."

Unluckily for them, Hitomi and Van didn't hear that dire promise. All they could hear were each other's echoed laughter as they made a mad dash for bed. Hitomi, still with a good lead, took a tight turn around the corner and up the stairs. Van's footsteps clattered behind her. He was getting close! Laughing, trotted up the stairs, made a hairpin turn at the top, and started the final sprint for her bedroom. Behind her, she heard Van swear and grab hold of the wall to prevent himself from falling.

Giddy with laughter, she skidded to a halt in front of the door to her bedroom and struggled with the handle. Just as Van lunged for her she forced open the door and he grasped empty air. She squealed and made a mad dash for her bed, only to be tackled at the last second, and they both fell together onto the soft mattress.

"Aaah! You caught me!" she gasped, kicking her shoes off and struggling to get out from Van's very firm grasp.

"You," he said, holding her tight, "Are a cheater."

She smiled smugly, spun to face him, and flicked at his bangs. "I still won! You're just jealous because I'm so fast."

"In a fair race I'd leave you in the dust."

"Sure, Mr. Trips-around-tight-corners. I'm a well-trained athlete. You're just some overconfident teenager."

"Teenager?"

She propped herself up on her elbow and cocked her head at Van. He was lying on his back with his hands behind his head and his still shod feet hanging off the bed.

"You know, teenager. Us. People between the ages of thirteen and twenty."

"The Mystic Moon has a separate classification for those ages?" he said, frowning in confusion. "Why?"

"Because..." she thought hard, realizing that she herself didn't quite know either. "Because... um... it's the time in a kid's life when they're not quite grown-up yet, but they're not children anymore. We can act more like adults but we can still have fun like kids and not take on all the responsibility that comes with growing up. I think."

"So... everyone our age on the Mystic Moon is a... teenager?" he tried out the unfamiliar word more or less successfully.

"Yeah, of course."

"Hm. Most of the poorer families send kids to work as soon as they're able. Even the merchants here in Asturia send their sons to be taught a trade at fourteen or fifteen. Childhood is a luxury that only the rich can afford."

He sat up and began to take off his boots and gloves. Hitomi was suddenly very uncomfortable. She wished that she hadn't said anything and they could go back to their playful wrestling and teasing, like real teenagers. It had been so nice to just play with Van like that, as if he were her classmate and they'd just returned after being out all night, maybe singing karaoke or just walking until sunrise. But that could never be changed about him, could it? He would always have his responsibilities. He would always be reticent about his problems and serious about his duty. He would always be a King.

Carefully, Van unbuckled his sword and laid it next to the bed, but he didn't lie back down.

"People on the Mystic Moon must lead good lives. No wonder you want to go back home."

There was a queer pang in her chest. "Van, I... it's just..."

"I'm sorry, Hitomi," he said, turning back to face her, his face serious and his eyes dark. With sudden fervor, he grabbed her hand and held it to his chest. "I didn't mean to say that. It just slipped out."

He was back to being a teenager again. She was amazed that he could handle going through so many changes in demeanor. One second he was the responsible King, then the sullen teenager, and the next a passionate and repentant young lover, something he was just learning how to be. Here he was, earnestly staring her in the eye with her hand clasped to his chest, trying to apologize for mentioning something that worried her just as much as it worried him. He was tender. He was awkward. He was clumsy. But most of all, he was trying his best, for her.

She loved him for it.

_To be honest_, she thought, _I think I love him for everything._

She smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, Van. I know it's on your mind. It's on mine a lot of the time, too. I don't want-"

"Don't think about it," he insisted, shifting so that he was so close to her that she could see her reflection in his eyes. "I don't want us to talk about it right now. I just want... I, ah... I want to be with you. For a while."

As he said this a blush crept across his cheeks, which caused hers to mimic his. They were both so young.

She nodded and looked down, smiling like the girl she was. "That sounds nice."

"Hitomi," he whispered, his voice hoarse.

He bent his head, swept in close, and tentatively brushed his lips against hers. She gasped slightly at the fleeting contact, and, unable to help herself, closed the gap between them. Her head was tingling with giddy passion enhanced by her lack of sleep, and she breathed in his scent like she was starving for it, all the while running her hands over his back, his arms, his hips.

He made a sound like "mmph" low in his throat and gingerly wrapped his arms around her waist. She groaned impatiently, placed her hands on the small of his back, and pulled herself onto his lap so that she was straddling him.

Gasping, he broke their kiss and fell back onto his hands. "Hitomi, are you su-"

"Shh," she said, putting her fingertips over his mouth. "Hold me tighter."

As she removed her hand he seemed like he was about to say something, but he closed his mouth, pressed his lips together, and swallowed.

"Anything," he said.

She leaned in and kissed him, then broke away and looked in his eyes. She could see every fracture in his iris, the deep red brown faulting into black around his pupils and deep, espresso brown in the outer ring. Maybe if she looked hard enough she could see his soul.

Looking at him like that caused a new sensation in her that lingered most strongly behind her eyes and flushed warmly throughout her body. It was akin to wanting to cry, she supposed, but not out of sadness. Rather, it was as if all her strongest emotions had been pushed to the top and were now flooding her senses, causing some painful, overwhelming joy and need to shoot all the way down to her toes. She wondered if he felt it too.

"I'll tell you if I want you to stop," she whispered.

At those words, all of his hesitance vanished. It was as if a door opened inside him, and the things that he had been keeping locked away came spilling out, unchecked and free. His head rose to meet hers and their lips met. The wonderful sensation of his tongue finding hers caused the back of her neck to tingle pleasurably. One hand snaked around her waist, stopping at the place where her hips met her stomach, and he pulled her roughly to him. The sensation of being dragged across him like that, her legs open to his hardness caused her to gasp in pleasure and surprise.

Her enthusiasm now matching his, she began fighting to remove his shirt. Her school blouse became tangled in his fingers and untucked as he complied with her insistent hands.

"Touch me, touch my skin, not my clothes," she breathed, tossing his shirt aside.

"Where?"

"All of it."

He didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

It was the light on his face as the sun reached the window on its way down that woke him. Van blinked and shielded his eyes. What time was it? It might have been four or five, judging from the sun's position in the sky. He wished Hitomi hadn't been stuck with West-facing windows.

She was still asleep. One hand was curled under her chin and the other was lying loosely at her side, giving her the appearance of a sleeping child. But with her shirt partially unbuttoned and the curve of her breasts just visible, she looked decidedly adult. She had kicked the covers off in her sleep so that they were tangled at the bend of her knees. Her skirt was pushed up all the way to her hips and her thighs were bare in the late afternoon sun. Absently, he ran his hand up one, then tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ears before getting to his feet. It would be dinner soon enough, and it wouldn't do for someone to find them like that, no matter how much he wanted to stay with her and start the morning's activity over again.

He blushed at the thought of it, but then shook it off, reminding himself that it was silly to be shy after how they'd spent their morning. They didn't even cross any of the more serious boundaries that honor would allow. She was still a lady by the standards of court. They had just enjoyed each other. Very, very much.

Ah, there was his shirt. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled it on, and behind him, Hitomi stirred and opened her eyes.

"Van?" she called, yawning widely on the last syllable.

"I'm here."

He pulled on his boots.

"Where are you going?"

"To my room. I want to change my clothes and write a letter before dinner."

"Mmmm," she said, stretching. "Don't forget to change your pants."

Unseen by her, he blushed hotly, and pulled on his gloves with more force than necessary. Then he stood and picked up his sword from where it was still leaning against the bed and buckled it around his waist.

That done, he sat on the bed again and bent over her. She smiled sleepily and looked up at him, her face still flushed and dotted with pressure marks from the pillows. The light from the window was making her green eyes shine like leaves in the setting sun. At times like this, he was amazed that she would even allowed him to touch her, let alone enthusiastically encourage him to the point of directing his hands when he was unsure about what lines to cross.

Though he would have liked it very much, he couldn't linger. He had things to take care of, for the both of them. Responsibilities. She would be there when he was finished.

"I'll see you at dinner," he said, and leaned in for a kiss.

* * *

"Hitomi, don't you think you'd look good in this one?" Millerna said, flourishing one of the dresses from her impressive collection.

After Van had left, Hitomi had gotten dressed and headed towards Millerna's room, as promised. The Princess had immediately launched into a lecture about the dangers of going without food for too long and ordered some soup and bread, which she practically forced Hitomi to eat under her very stern gaze. Hitomi wasn't ungrateful. Indeed; the food had done wonders for her energy level, and she even felt up to the very thorough medical exam Millerna performed once she was finished eating (which, thankfully, didn't involve rectal thermometers of any kind).

Unluckily for Hitomi, who didn't particularly like being stuffed into the raiments of the Asturian court, her clothes were pronounced filthy and sent off to the wash. Now she was standing in Millerna's room wearing nothing but a robe.

"I... don't know," Hitomi stammered. "It's really... frilly... isn't it?"

The thing was covered in more lace and ribbons than a Victorian wedding gown. Judging from the way Millerna was holding it, the dress should have been making Hitomi squeal in delight. Instead, it was filling her head with visions of doilies.

"Hm, you've got a point. These sorts of collars fell out of fashion two years ago," she said with a sigh. "I just thought the color would look so good with your eyes."

"Ah, really? I thought it looked a little tight."

_I will never understand how a person as smart as Millerna could be such a slave to fashion_, she thought.

"Hmmm," said Millerna, eying Hitomi critically.

Hitomi blinked at her friend and shifted uncomfortably. Her gaze was as precise and deadly as a laser.

"You know," the princess slowly said, "I think I might have something for you. It's not really high fashion here, but I think it might suit you better than anything else I have. Wait just a miet, I'll be right back."

_Oh God what is it this time_, she thought.

She started to fidget as Millerna dug through the closet on the other side of the room. Several gowns that would put Rococo fashion to shame were laid over a chair as Millerna passed them up in favor of the mysterious dress she'd mentioned. All Hitomi could do at this point was to hope very hard that it wouldn't be _too_ lacy.

"Aha! Here it is!"

A nondescript, deep green bundle was in Millerna's hands. It didn't look like it was too frilly, but it was hard to tell from that distance. Millerna primly smiled as she carried the dress over to her friend, but didn't unfurl it as she'd done with the others. Instead, she pressed it into Hitomi's hand and pointed to a folding screen in the corner.

"Try it on. _Trust me_," she added, catching the skeptical look in Hitomi's eye. "I've laid out some fresh underwear for you to use, too."

Since Millerna was practically glowing, Hitomi took the dress as cheerfully as possible and tried not to look anxious. The last time the princess had chosen something for Hitomi to wear, it had been a shade of pink that even she in her girliest of ages would have been embarrassed to wear. This deep green was lovely, to be sure, but she wasn't sure she'd like a repeat of the last dress, which had been so cumbersome that she'd torn off the skirt. Though if she had been willing to admit it, she would have realized that the pink disaster, as she privately called it, had been quite a lovely dress on her lithe frame.

After putting on her borrowed underwear and the simple white shift that most women wore underneath their gowns, Hitomi slipped the dress over her head, swallowed, and walked into the room.

"Oh, Hitomi," Millerna said, smiling in a self-satisfied way, "You look wonderful. Here, come and look in the mirror."

Tentatively, Hitomi stepped in front of the glass. The dress was cut so that it bunched just under her breasts, gently hugged her middle and fell naturally from the hips, ending just before it hit the ground. It was cut just low enough to show a modest amount of cleavage and well enough to give her breasts the support they needed without having to wear a bra. The sleeves were split and fell just to the middle of her upper arms. All in all, it was a very simple dress, trimmed with satiny green ribbon here and there and topped off with the understated flourish of a small bow just under her breasts.

And it was _comfortable_. The fabric was light, more like linen than silk, but Hitomi could tell when she touched it that it was still very fine.

"I've never seen anything like this in Asturia."

"That's because it's not Asturian. It's from Egzardia, back when they were using Fanelian clothing as inspiration."

"Fanelian?"

"That's right. See the way the dress is cut just under the bust? That's the standard for Fanelian women, though they usually decorate it with a sash that ties in the front. It's even got the same kind of flourishes you'd see there; look."

Millerna spun Hitomi around and unbuttoned a stay in the small of her back. The excess fabric that had been bunched there released, revealing a small train decorated with embroidered leaves.

"That's for balls and things. You can even take it off if you don't like sitting on it. I like it because you don't have to let the train get in the way all the time, but it's not really fashionable, you know? Things are more casual in Fanelia and the clothing sort of reflects that. Are you okay?"

Hitomi had gone very quiet. Her eyes were troubled and she was pressing her lips together in an apparent effort to keep them from forming any expression at all. When Millerna spoke, she seemed to snap out of a reverie.

"Nothing," she lied. "What's for dinner?"

Unconvinced, Millerna pressed on. "Something's on your mind, Hitomi. What is it?"

"I... um, when you mentioned that this was what they wore in Fanelia I started thinking... never mind, it's dumb."

"Hitomi. You know you can tell me anything. I won't laugh."

She giggled nervously. "Fanelia seems like it would be a nice place to live. I thought that if this is what they wear there, I wouldn't mind staying for a while. Then I thought about going home, and about... about Van. About what we have, I guess. What I'm leaving behind."

She could feel herself blushing, and she wished that she could do something to stop it. She thought that she must appear very childish in front of Millerna, who had already experienced so much of what Hitomi considered "adult" romance and had demonstrated on several occasions that she could talk about it without doing something as adolescent as blushing.

"You don't want to leave him," Millerna said, her voice gentle as her smile.

"I feel like I'm being stupid," muttered Hitomi.

Millerna sighed and took Hitomi's hand, leading her over to the window seat. They sat in silence for a while, watching people walk about the courtyard, going home or returning to the castle after a day's work.

"It's not fair, is it?" Millerna said.

Unable to say anything to that, Hitomi shook her head. Millerna understood.

"I'm sorry. I wish things could be easier for you. For you both. It's not stupid to feel sad about it."

"I didn't think it would be this hard," said Hitomi, staring miserably out the window.

"No one ever does."

There was a knock at the door, followed by what sounded like muffled shouting from the other side. Both girls jumped at the sudden noise.

Tentatively, Millerna got to her feet and said, "Yes?"

The door opened and a harassed-looking lady-in-waiting appeared. "Begging your pardon Princess, but there's a girl here asking if you would be willing to allow her to join you and Miss Hitomi."

A very familiar voice pierced their ears. "What do you mean 'a girl!?' You know exactly who I am! Let me in!"

"Merle!" Hitomi exclaimed, standing up at once.

"Tell her that she's welcome," Millerna commanded, and the lady-in-waiting bowed and vanished from sight.

Shortly afterward, Merle burst into the room, spotted Hitomi, and flung herself around her waist.

"Hitomi! Why didn't you come see me right away!? I was so worried! You could have been dead for all I knew!"

A much-needed smile appeared on Hitomi's lips. "I missed you too, Merle."

"And what about Van-Sama!? I haven't been able to find him anywhere and I even looked in your room! Is he okay? He isn't hurt, is he?"

"He's fine. He said he was going to go take care of some things when he woke up."

Merle eased her death-grip around Hitomi's waist and faced her, hands on her hips. "When he woke up? What do you mean, 'when he woke up?'"

If Hitomi had been self-conscious about blushing before, nothing compared to the overwhelming feeling of wanting to sink into the floor that was overtaking her now. The shade of magenta on her face put Merle's hair to shame.

"I- we- when we- Millerna said that-"

"What she means to say," Millerna cut-in, "Is that I ordered the both of them to go to sleep when they arrived this morning. Van probably mentioned his plans for the afternoon before they retired to their _separate_ bedrooms."

_Oh God kill me now._

"Sleeping?" Merle snorted, tossing her hair. "Like hell you were sleeping. It's all over your face."

"I- I don't know what you're talking about!" Hitomi said, her voice rising hysterically with every word.

It was clear that choice of action was ineffectual. Now Millerna, who had been at least putting up somewhat of an effort not to guess at what she and Van had been up to until they fell asleep, was actually blushing as badly as Hitomi had been earlier. Oh God, what were the protocol rules in Asturia? She knew she could trust Millerna to be discreet, but judging from the delicate pink shading the princess' cheeks, making-out and then sharing the same bed were probably weren't exactly smiled-upon in the hallowed halls of the palace.

"Whatever. You should have at least sent me a message or something. I really was worried, you know? I couldn't even leave the market until the sun started to go down and I was biting my claws the whole time."

Merle frowned, crossed her arms, and turned away, tail flicking back and forth in irritation. Realizing that the catgirl was serious, Hitomi forgot that she was supposed to be feeling flustered and visibly shrunk, the blush disappearing from her face. Truth be told, she'd completely forgotten that Merle might be worried about them. All she'd thought about since they got back was her own feelings, her own desires, her own worries, assuming that everyone would figure out that she and Van had returned safely.

"I'm sorry, Merle," she said.

"Hmph!"

"It's partly my fault," Millerna added, her voice gentle and conciliatory. "I told Hitomi that she had to come and let me examine her right after she woke up. She hasn't had the time to send you a message. Right, Hitomi?"

"Yeah, but Merle's got a point. I wasn't thinking. I'm really sorry."

Merle flicked her ears, looking slightly mollified. "Well, I guess you were probably pretty tired. You did let yourself get kidnapped again, after all."

"Hey!" said Hitomi, fuming. "I didn't 'let' myself get anything!"

Merle grinned. "It's happened before. Anyway. Come on, let's go look for Van-Sama. Then you can tell me all about what happened in Zaibach. Why were you on an Ispano ship, anyway? See you later, Princess Millerna."

"But- but we're- I don't even have any shoes!"

"You can get those later," Merle said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Of course," Millerna replied, her head cocked to the side and her fist propped under her chin, lips curled into an amused smile. "Just pick out whatever you need from the shoe closet, over there. Will I see you at dinner?"

"Sure, sure," Merle said impatiently. "Now come on!"

"Let me know how Van likes the dress," Millerna called after them.

Against her will, Hitomi blushed again, and Merle laughed. That was it, she thought as Merle dragged her down the hall. When she and Millerna got boyfriends, she was going to tease the hell out of them. Starting when Dryden got back.

* * *

Merle and Hitomi found Van without too much trouble. He had been in Princess Eries' suite, taking advantage of all the writing impliments she had leftover from drafting bills or reviewing decrees. He had just been sealing a letter when the two girls walked in the room. Strangely enough, Merle didn't bowl Van over in greeting as she had Hitomi earlier. She looked as if she were about to, but then reconsidered, casually licking the back of her hand in the process as if it were what she had been planning all along. It was all to obvious that things between Van and Merle wouldn't ever be as easy as they once were.

To ease the tension, Hitomi asked what Van had been writing, and he said that it was a letter Zaibach's Emperor Regent. He wouldn't, however, say what he'd sent, even after Hitomi's repeated inquiries. As a result, she gave him the cold shoulder all throughout dinner.

Conversation wasn't entirely lacking, however. Everyone present wanted to know what had gone on in Zaibach and why they had arrived in an Ispano ship. Hitomi would have been all too happy to share the details with her friends or even Eries if she were inclined to listen, but she was forced to give a bare-bones version due to the presence of several greedy-looking councilors.

During dessert, Hitomi, Van, Merle, Millerna, and Eries recieved an invitation to the Schezar household for dinner the following evening, which everyone save Eries gladly accepted. Eries merely consented to attend.

After dessert, drinks were served, and one of the minor Lords attempted to make conversation with Hitomi. She didn't pay attention to much of what he said because he was a little too flattering in his compliments for her comfort. But what he said when she was looking absently out the window caused her to knock over her glass of _vino_ in surprise.

"I trust that I shall see your ladyship at the upcoming ball. There are so few ladies with your particular charm in this area of Gaea..."

"What!" she gasped. "A ball?"

The vino bloomed vibrantly purple on the white tablecloth.

"My lady, you seem to have upset your drink. Here, allow me to assist you..."

"No!" she said, knocking his hand away and grabbing at the nearest napkin. "It's okay! I'll do it."

"If your ladyship is certain," the Lord said, bowing his head, which caused his overlong beard to graze his doublet.

"Yes, yes. What were you saying about a ball?"

"I had assumed that your ladyship had already been informed. My apoligies for broaching the subject so suddenly. The night after next is to host a ball in commemoration of the final day of the summit of nations. If your ladyship requires escort, I would certainly be willing to lend my assistance..."

"No! No, I think I won't have any problem finding a date," she said, waving her hands vehemently and forcing a smile.

The Lord bowed his head again and said no more.

A ball? If this was being held for the sake of the summit, then Van was most likely expected to attend. Why hadn't he said anything about this? Why hadn't anyone? Was he even going to ask her to go with him?

She gulped the nearest glass of _vino _down in one go, letting the warm sensation of the drink spread through her chest and distract her thoughts. There was one thing she couldn't get out of her mind, though, no matter how hard she tried. If Millerna only knew, she would be laughing fit to burst.

What in heaven's name was she going to wear?

* * *

A/N: A nice and easy chapter, full of love and the trials of being a teenager. Let me know if you like it.

I'm going out of town this week for 7 days and I'm leaving my computer behind. My best friend from high school is getting married and I'm set to be a bridesmaid. I'll write when I can but I might not get a chance since I'll be so busy, so there's going to be a bit of a delay. Sorry about that. Thank you for reading, as always. And thank you everyone for your _wonderful _reviews of the last chapter.


	20. High Society

Chapter 20 - High Society

It was a beautiful night in the royal dining hall at the Asturian palace. The bright white linen table cloth was embroidered in delicate gold thread with the royal seal of Asturia. The warm ocean breeze that drifted in through the open doors, which were known as "French" on the Mystic Moon, stirred up the lingering scent of the cream soufflé which had been served at dessert, so that the room smelled of salt and sugar and night-blooming flowers all at once. Every the Lord and Lady present was enjoying a nightcap of the finest _vino_ Asturia had to offer, which tantalized the tongue with hints of currants, honey, and something deep and red that no one could quite identify. With so many many merry jokes, courtly flirtations, and intense conversation crossing paths in the air, it seemed as if no one on Gaea could be out of spirits.

As fate would have it, someone from outside of Gaea was present that night, and she was decidedly upset.

Hitomi was fuming. No, that didn't even begin to describe it. She was _livid_. Knowing that there was an upcoming ball which Van was almost certainly attending along with all the other Lords and Ladies at the post-war summit did not fill her with girlish, anticipatory glee. Nor did it make her nervous and uncertain whether he would ask her to accompany him or not. Instead, she felt excluded. Purposefully slighted. Why had no one at least mentioned it to her in passing? There had been plenty of time before her and Van's abrupt departure to Zaibach to at least drop a hint that she should think about ordering a dress or brush up on her dancing. Millerna especially had plenty of chances to do just that.

Her vision was cloudy and everything looked as if it were tilting back and forth, but Hitomi still managed to pick out Millerna's lovely golden hair from across the table. She was chatting with Eries about something. Probably about her, she concluded, hurt. And where was Van?

She swiveled her neck in search of Van and nearly fell out of her chair. There he was, chatting with some stuffy noble on the east balcony, Merle at his side. He certainly looked like he didn't care.

If she'd had much experience being drunk, she would have likely recognized that her thoughts were leading her down a dangerous path. Unluckily for Hitomi, she'd been drunk exactly twice in her life, and this was her first time dealing with feelings of insecurity under the influence of a great deal of alcohol. Hurt bloomed in her chest like a poisonous flower.

She wobbled to her feet, fighting tears. "Excuse me," she announced. "I have to go now."

The venom with which she spoke her excuse startled Millerna so much so that she nudged her elder sister and whispered something in her ear. Eries turned her graceful head in Hitomi's direction. Both stared. Hitomi took this as another snub and glared at them with what she thought was righteous venom, but this only caused Eries to raise one eyebrow and Millerna to giggle.

Unable to take any more ridicule, her tears finally spilled over and she said, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion, "If you didn't want me around you could have at least said something!"

Then she turned on her heels and stormed away, leaving a very confused pair of princesses and a deeply insulted Asturian Lord in her wake.

On the nearby balcony, Merle sighed.

"You'd think that girl would just give up alcohol if it makes her so weird," she muttered, her tail waving back and forth.

"Merle? What is it?" said Van.

He turned from his conversation with the Lord of the Western March to ask her this, but his eyes remained on his conversation partner. He apparently hadn't noticed a thing.

"Nothing. Wait here, okay? I'll be right back."

* * *

"Do you think she's drunk?" Millerna asked Eries as Hitomi dashed out of sight.

"Almost certainly."

The elder Princess drummed her fingers on the table and looked around the room to gage whether the others had noticed Hitomi's outburst. The three Lords in the King's Council were in a world of their own, their heads close together in deep discussion, not displaying a single sign that they'd caught anything out of the ordinary. The bearded Lord of Saulitsia, who had been assaulting Hitomi with his dubious charms, was visibly affronted, but other than that the girl's antics had gone unnoticed. Even Van, who Eries fully expected to be running after Hitomi, had apparently missed the whole thing. Merle was no where to be found.

"Should we go after her?" said Millerna, biting her lip. "I hope Lord Saulitsia didn't do anything inappropriate. He should have been brought up on charges ages ago. Last year, he even-"

"Please, Millerna. That sort of conversation has no place at this table."

"What? I was only-"

"Gossiping?"

Millerna pouted. "It's no different from what _you _do with your handmaidens at the end of every day."

"That would be called collecting information on my political opponents. And I, at least, have the presence of mind to do it behind closed doors."

"You can dress it up however you like, but it's still gossip, and you don't have the right to treat me like I'm a stupid little girl for trying to do it with my sister."

Eries pinched the bridge of her nose. That wasn't what she meant to imply at all. Millerna had always taken even the gentlest correction to be the most vicious criticism, and their relationship as sisters had consequently been somewhat strained since they were young children. Millerna would be on the verge of committing some great social misstep, Eries would pull her aside and try to prevent it, and Millerna would get so upset that sometimes she ended up crying and having to be led away by one of their nursemaids.

Except that Marlene could always calm her down without resorting to sweets like the nursemaids did. Poor Marlene. She understood just what to say to someone in pain, no matter what it cost her in the end.

"You could stop treating me like a child, you know. I've changed a lot in the past few months."

"Please, Millerna," Eries said again. "It isn't appropriate to-"

"Even when we were children you had to correct everything I did. At least Marlene never talked down to me."

It was as if all the warm air had been sucked out of the room and replaced with ice. Some of it seemed to crystallize in Eries lungs and she pressed her lips together in a thin line. Next to her, Millerna drank from her own goblet and didn't notice the way her sister was breathing now, or the cast of her skin as she slowly got to her feet.

"Please excuse me. I seem to be in need of fresh air."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

Eries was already halfway across the room when she heard this, so she didn't bother to answer.

"Sister! Hey! Come back!" Millerna called, attracting a few stares in the process, but Eries was already gone.

"I just don't understand her sometimes," Millerna said to herself, and drowned the rest of her drink in one unladylike gulp.

So, for the second time that night, a Lady left the banquet hall in a state of emotional turmoil. This time, however, _vino_ was not to blame.

* * *

"Go away, Merle!" Hitomi shouted.

She ran down the tiled hallways of the palace, tearing past tapestries older than the founding of the capital, all of them depicting hunting scenes, some of them featuring sea dragons. Every few steps, some window would cast her face in the soft light of the moons, which helped Merle see her clear as day as she chased the drunken girl down the hallway. Athlete or not, she would get tired sometime. And no one could match the stamina of a determined cat.

"Slow down, you idiot, or you're going to trip and hurt yourself!" she yelled back.

Hitomi sobbed and stumbled, but kept running.

"I'm serious! Come on, stop being stupid and let me talk to you!"

"Shut up!"

Merle rolled her eyes and put a little more speed into her run. If she didn't catch Hitomi now, who knows what she'd end up doing to herself. The top of the grand staircase loomed ahead of them and Merle silently cursed. Gods, she prayed that Hitomi wouldn't trip and break her neck.

Luckily, they served to slow her down. The train of Hitomi's dark green skirt had come undone, and her feet got tangled in them as she attempted the first leg of the staircase, which would have lead her up again and to the bedroom wing if she were successful in ascending them. Merle caught up with her in no time.

Grabbing hold of her wrist, she turned Hitomi to face her and said, "What the hell are you thinking running like that? You've had like five glasses of _vino_."

"I'm... not... stupid!" she half-sobbed, half-panted. Her face was as red as the carpet on which they were standing.

"You could have broken your neck on the stairs or something. How do you think that would make Van-Sama feel, huh?"

"He wouldn't care," Hitomi said, miserably.

Merle snorted. "You're an idiot. Come on, I'm going to take you to bed."

"No," Hitomi insisted, struggling weakly against Merle's firm grasp. "I don't want... I need..."

"What you need," Merle said, as she guided Hitomi towards her bedroom, "Is a good night of rest and a chance to feel embarrassed about this before you yell at Van-Sama for no reason. You're drunk and it's making you dumb."

"What do you know about it?" Hitomi grumbled.

"More than you think. Ugh, you smell like a distillery. What did that guy slip you, _molinka_?"

They reached the top of the second staircase and turned down the long corridor to the bedroom wing, which was tiled with irregular grey stones that somehow fit together as well as any evenly-laid wall of bricks.

"I just... I had some _vino_. M'fine."

"Yeah, and about a shot of fine-grained corn mash," Merle said. "Here we are."

Making sure not to release Hitomi, Merle pushed open the finely-wrought bedroom door and led Hitomi over to her bed. The sheets had already been made fresh, and there was a pitcher of water next to the bed with a large glass tumbler. At least someone in the palace staff had a keen eye.

"Sit down. I'll help you get out of that dress."

Merle was mildly surprised at how few stays the borrowed gown had, and was grateful for it. It made getting Hitomi out of it easy work. The underwear was modest enough for her to sleep in, Merle decided, and so she allowed Hitomi to lie face-down on the bed while she hung the dress up to be washed in the morning. She had just finished taking care of that when she heard the glass doors creak open behind her.

She spun around to see that Hitomi had somehow made her way across the room and through the great glass doors, and was leaning at a dangerous angle over the long stone railing that wrapped around all balconies on that side of the palace.

"What the hell are you doing!" Merle screeched, and bolting like a cat out of water to Hitomi and pulling her back from her precarious position. "The whole city can see you like that! Do you have a death wish or something!?"

"D'you think," Hitomi slurred. "D'you think Van's back yet? I wanna _talk _to him."

Her grip on the rail was surprisingly firm, and Merle was having a lot of trouble prying her loose.

"Even if he was," she grunted, as she loosed one of her friend's fingers at a time, "You're drunk, and you'd just say something you'll regret when you've sobered up."

Hitomi giggled, a strange thing considering that her face was still wet with tears.

"I like him a lot," she confided.

Merle rolled her eyes and flicked her tail back and forth with a little more force than usual.

"That was obvious from the first time I saw you," she said, seething as she moved on to Hitomi's right hand, this time not caring to be particularly careful. "It took you long enough to figure it out."

"Ouch!"

Hitomi jerked her hand back in pain as Merle accidentally stabbed her with one of her claws, and both girls fell backwards onto the cold, black and white tiled floor. Cursing, Merle rubbed her sore backside and asked herself why she was going to so much trouble to prevent Van and Hitomi from having a fight when it was obvious that it would go completely unappreciated.

As she nursed her hand, Hitomi turned to Merle, her eyes bleary, and whispered, "Sorry."

"Whatever. Get up."

Merle stuck out her hand, Hitomi took it, and was hoisted to her feet. Carefully, Merle leaned her back against a stack of pillows, then poured a tumbler of water and shoved it into her hands.

"Drink," she ordered.

Meekly, Hitomi started drinking. They sat in silence like that for a while, Hitomi sipping the water and Merle watching, a scowl firmly entrenched on her face.

Finally, Hitomi said, in a small voice, "Are you okay, Merle?"

The catgirl snorted. "I'm fine."

"I didn't mean to hurt you," she mumbled.

Merle softened. "You didn't do anything."

A few fat tears trickled down Hitomi's face.

"Hey. Don't worry. Everyone likes you. So don't be sad, okay?"

"Even Van?"

Rolling her eyes again, Merle huffed and said, "Especially Van-Sama."

"Even if... he didn't invite me... to the ball?" she hiccuped.

Merle blinked. "That's it? That's why you yelled at Millerna and stormed out of the dining hall?"

"That's not... I was just..."

"You must be blind and deaf as well as stupid. Everyone's been talking about it. Van-Sama probably figured you already knew. I mean, it was pretty..." Merle struggled to say something negative about Van. "...dense of him not to, I guess. But come on. He's crazy about you. Everyone knows he is."

"Really?"

The look on her face was so hopeful that Merle had to laugh. She couldn't believe that this completely oblivious girl was so blinded by her own insecurity right now that she couldn't see that the most wonderful man in the world was madly in love with her. She knew it was the alcohol talking, but the situation was just too rich.

"You're so dense sometimes!" she gasped between increasingly wild laughs. "Gods, he probably wants to marry you! You're ridiculous!"

"Merle... are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay! Who would've thought that I'd ever be reassuring you that Van-Sama loved you. Me!"

"...sorry. I'm sorry!"

Hitomi flung her arms around Merle, sending the tumbler rolling across the floor in the process.

"I'm so selfish!" she wailed.

"Hey!" barked Merle, struggling to escape. "Leggo! I was just kidding, okay! Hey, are you listening!?"

Hitomi had gone limp. Leaning in closely, Merle discovered that she was snoring. The alcohol had finally knocked her out.

With a great sigh, Merle hoisted Hitomi onto the bed, tucked her in, and picked the tumbler off the floor. It wouldn't do for Van to trip on it when he came to check on Hitomi later.

* * *

Morning came and went and Hitomi's head slowly started to throb less. Millerna insisted that her headache was caused by drinking too much, but Hitomi had suspicions that something else may have been mixed in her drinks, though she had no idea where she'd even gotten that idea. In fact, she remembered very little from the time she finished her fifth glass of _vino_, except that Merle had taken her to bed and Van had woken her up near dawn with a cool kiss to the forehead. Thinking about it made her feel warm.

As dinner with the Schezars approached and Hitomi felt more and more human, Millerna helped her pick out a dress to wear to dinner, as her school uniform hadn't come back from the laundry. Hitomi was suspicious of this, as she'd seen some of Millerna's huge dresses come back in far less time, but she went along with it because she was too tired to argue. This dress was fawn-colored with soft cream trimming, a princess-seamed waist, long sleeves ending with bell cuffs, and no train. The fabric was like soft leather. Millerna said that it was made from some low-growing fibrous plant that practically choked-out the Daedalan landscape in autumn. Hitomi loved how soft it was against her skin. She wouldn't be able to run in it without tripping, but at least it would be comfortable, if a bit tight around the chest. At least it didn't have any ruffles.

Van was busy the whole day arranging things for the next day's summit, and so Hitomi was left to entertain herself. She didn't mind, she supposed as she climbed to the top of the castle battlements. It felt nice to be alone.

The turquoise sea sparkled and winked at her and the soft breeze stirred her hair while the colorful flags adorned with the crest of Jichia fluttered softly throughout the castle grounds. Seabirds called to one another. All she could hear was them, the wind, and her own thoughts. Like that, she almost forgot why she had been so upset the night before.

Almost.

No matter what she tried, she couldn't get it out of her head that Van had deliberately neglected to invite her along with him to the upcoming ball. The more charitable side of her personality was certain that he'd simply forgotten to tell her, or that he was saving it for a surprise, and to wait and see. Since he had to have known about it considering his place in Gaean politics, she thought it unlikely that he would forget to tell her something so important. As for it being a surprise, well, she supposed it wasn't impossible, but it didn't seem like _Van_ to her. Perhaps he assumed she'd just go with him whether he asked or not. She didn't like that because it felt like a gesture of ownership, which was one of the things she disliked most about Allen's way of treating her during their relationship. The deepest, most frightened voice in her head whispered that he simply didn't want come, and that she really had no place by his side to begin with. That his silence meant she wasn't good enough for him. That she never would be. She tried her best to hush that voice up, because she knew it was just insecurity and paranoia speaking, but the hurt it caused was still there. Until she had a chance to talk with him about it, it would press on like a lingering bruise.

She didn't even consider the most likely possibility: that he hadn't managed to work up the nerve to ask her in the first place.

So the day passed until it was time to visit the Schezars.

Because Hitomi's dress was cut so that her shoulders were bare, Millerna insisted on lending her one of her numerous shawls to keep out the cold, though it was a very warm night. Hitomi felt a little silly with the fine silk cloth over her shoulders. She wished very hard that she had the comfort of her old school uniform back.

"Are you sure I need this, Millerna?" she asked, as they climbed into the carriage together.

Hitomi was to ride with Millerna and Eries and Merle, and Van was to go on horseback alongside them. According to Eries, it wasn't proper for young ladies to go about in carriages with men. Van had shrugged and accepted.

"Well, night air can cause colds if you get chilled," she replied.

Around Millerna's shoulders was an equally fine lace shawl to go with her very lacy dress. At least, thought Hitomi, she was taking her own advice.

Everyone except Van had dressed up a little for this event, even if it was between old friends. Eries and Millerna were clothed in equally stylish, though diametrically opposite dresses, and even Merle looked happy and excited in a short pink dress that she'd borrowed from Millerna's childhood wardrobe.

All the finery was making Hitomi nervous. She wished she had her old school uniform, and envied Van his ability to simply shrug off what others were doing and go with what he knew. The thing that made her more nervous, however, was the stony silence between Eries and Millerna. What had caused this situation Hitomi couldn't tell, but Millerna was avoiding her sister's plaintive gaze by staring resolutely out the window, her nose in the air and her lips staunchly pursed. From experience, she knew that Millerna could be pretty stubborn when she was mad about something, so she guessed that the sisters had a fight and still hadn't made up.

While Millerna just seemed resentful, Hitomi sensed that there was something more troubling Eries. Something a deeper blue than her simple gown was hanging about her heart as she quietly sat in her corner of the coach, seemingly disconnected from what was going on around her. If she concentrated, she felt like she could almost see it...

_You don't know him like I do, Eries. He's been through so much. I've got to help him, can't you understand? I've fallen in love with him. Oh, Eries. Please don't-_

"Hey. Creepy girl," Merle said, and Hitomi snapped back to reality.

"What?"

"How's your head?"

"Since I had lunch it's been fine. Thanks, by the way, for putting me to bed last night."

Merle flicked her tail as if to say 'don't mention it,' but her expression was gleefully smug. Hitomi made a mental note to try not to let Merle talk to much. She looked like she had a few stories to tell, none of which promised to be flattering.

The carriage clattered to a halt, and the coachman announced their arrival. The low white house had a candle set twinkling in every window. Their shoes clicked cheerfully over a walkway that was laid in soft off-white marble and framed on both sides by the fanning branches of what smelled like lemon trees. Tinkling female laughter wafted from behind the red front door.

A voice that could only belong to Celena filtered through the heavy wood and brought a smile to Hitomi's lips.

"They're here! They're here! Brother, get over here! Hurry! Your hair looks fine!"

Allen murmured something to his sister, and she groaned. There was the sound of footsteps, and then the door opened.

Celena and Allen were not, however, at the door to greet them. Instead, it was Peter, the young butler-in-training with the meticulously kept coal-black hair. Hitomi recognized him from her previous visit to this house, when she and Van had hungrily searched out food after their long flight on Escaflowne. She smiled and waved to him, but he showed no signs of recognition, instead bowing and waving his hand in an over-lavish gesture, bid the party to follow him into the parlor. They did.

The sparse parlor from Hitomi's memory was completely transformed. In one corner, a tiny spinet with a blue-cushioned bench sat and a green vase stuffed with pink flowers on top of it. Above the spinet hung a portrait of what Hitomi assumed was Allen's mother. The bare floors had been laid with a thick carpet set with intricate designs, and several ornate and comfortable-looking couches and chairs had replaced the utilitarian ones of the previous week. Bookshelves stocked with books, games, and drawing supplies now lined the once bare walls. In the center of the room, a low table laden with appetizers sat, inviting them to take a sample, sit, and be comfortable. It was no longer the parlor of a bachelor who didn't care much for entertaining. This was a room designed for friends.

_Friends and suitors_, she mischievously thought. _I bet that's what the swords over the mantel are for._

In the thick of it all stood Celena and Allen. Celena, in a soft grey dress that fit her just right, looked lovely enough for any older brother to be nervous. She broke the angelic image in less than a second.

"Hitomi! Everyone!" she squealed, giving Hitomi a bone-crushing hug.

"Welcome to our home, Princesses Millerna and Eries, Merle and Hitomi," Allen said with a low bow.

Everyone but Hitomi responded with a shallow curtsy. When she noticed this, she quickly attempted a curtsy of her own, which made her look less like a gracious guest and more like a clumsy ballerina. Celena laughed.

"Please pardon my sister's manners. She's been looking forward to this night since you accepted the invitation, and her spirits are high."

"Oh, shut up," said Celena, giving her brother a smart rap on the arm.

"We take no offense whatsoever," Eries responded with a bowed head.

"Oh, stop it you two," said Millerna, walking over to Allen and taking his arm as she led him to the sofa. "You're as bad as the courtiers. We're all friends here, so you don't need to be polite. Right, Hitomi?"

"R-right."

Eries pressed her lips together and said nothing.

"Where's Van?" Celena asked.

She was standing on her toes and looking over her head as if she expected him to be crouching behind one of the potted plants.

Merle narrowed her eyes. "Van-_Sama_ is stabling the horse."

"That's weird. Why didn't he let the coachmen do it?"

"Because he felt like it. What a stupid question."

Hitomi had no idea why Merle was being so hostile towards Celena, but she felt like the catgirl may have finally met her match. Merle lashed her tail back and forth and glared at Celena, arms crossed, but Celena didn't seem to care at all. She just rocked back on her heels and grinned.

"Please," Allen called to them from his position next to Millerna on the largest sofa. "Sit down and enjoy the refreshments."

"Oh, you have to, they're _so_ good. Cook made little quiches," Celena confided to Hitomi.

Everyone began to take their seats. Mostly, they were allowed to choose where they wanted, but before Eries could select the lone chaise Celena grabbed her arm, whispered something in her ear that made her color slightly, and placed her on Allen's other side. Allen turned to her with a warm smile as Millerna peeked quizzically over his shoulder.

"I'm pleased you made it, Princess," Allen said.

Eries gave him a slight smile. "Haven't I told you since we first met to call me Eries?"

"Don't bother," Millerna cut in. "He still calls me Princess and I've probably told him to a hundred times more than you have."

Eries went silent and leaned back in her seat while Allen looked uncomfortably away.

_That was sort of vicious. What's Millerna doing_? Hitomi thought.

Millerna had a smile on her face akin to one often seen on Merle's when she knew she was being particularly needling.

"I must act in accordance to your station," Allen said, to the delighted laughter of Millerna.

The door to the parlor opened and there was Van. He'd managed to avoid getting muck on his boots while he stabled the horses, but there was a streak of it on the back of his hand, his hair was disheveled from riding, and his skin was ruddier than usual. He looked out of place in a room stuffed with such finery. However, he didn't seem to notice. When he entered the room, it was with as much nonchalance as she'd seen when he was strolling up to the barn where he kept Escaflowne, or lugging a bag of piscus to the kitchens. It seemed to her that no matter the situation, he'd always approach it as if he belonged there and was ready to take charge. She blushed at the thought.

"Van-Sama!" called Merle, leaning over the back of her chair and reaching for him.

"Hi, Merle."

He took her hand and squeezed it, and then looked up at Allen and stopped dead in his tracks. Hitomi could imagine that the sight of Allen wedged firmly in-between the Princesses of Asturia and his sister beaming at the situation from her place on the chaise would have made him laugh if not for his long acquaintance with the knight. Instead, he made an unconvincing cough and stuck out his hand.

"Allen."

"Welcome to my home," Allen said, using that moment as an excuse to get to his feet.

Hitomi ended up sitting directly between then as they shook one another's hand, giving her a clear view of their faces. In contrast to Allen's beatific smile of welcome, Van was almost frowning, though the expression did not meet his eyes. They looked at one another over their clasped hands for what seemed a moment too long. Then, as if responding to a signal, Allen released his grip on Van and stepped back, the smile still warm on his face.

"Please sit," he said. "I believe that there's room next to Hitomi."

Van grinned. "Thanks. I see you've redecorated."

From this point, the conversation was far easier. Celena excitedly peppered the flow of words with questions about Van and Hitomi's adventure in Zaibach, some of which were so intrusive that Allen went white trying not to faint at her lack of propriety, which Millerna found extremely funny and Merle absolutely did not. Eries occasionally added her own soft-spoken inquiries, but for the most part silently observed rather than participate in the general merriment. On her lap, she gripped her fan between both hands. Her knuckles were white.

Before Hitomi could pull her aside and ask her what was wrong, however, Peter entered the room and announced that dinner was served.

"Hey, Van," Hitomi whispered, taking advantage of the commotion caused by their move to the dining room.

Since they were several steps behind the rest of the party, she was sure they were out of earshot as long as they kept their voices low.

"What?"

The thought of asking him why he hadn't told her about the ball yet flashed through her mind, but she decided to save it for later. She didn't want to fight in front of Allen and the others.

"Do you know what's wrong with Eries?"

"There's something wrong with Eries?"

"Nevermind. I want to talk to you after dinner. Can you meet me in my room when we get back to the palace?"

Van looked at her as if he wanted to ask her why, but they had already arrived in the dining room and were taking their seats. He nodded.

"Don't forget," she whispered.

"I won't."

The candles were lit, the trays were laid, and dinner was served.

* * *

A/N: Whoa! Lots of talking! What's on Eries' mind? Why is Millerna being so antagonistic? What are Van and Hitomi going to talk about after dinner? Will I ever learn to write more concisely? Find out next chapter!

Thank you for the excellent advice, Kae. A few years ago, someone told me that I focused too much on description and not enough in dialog, and it seems like I've overcompensated in the wrong direction. I tried to describe things more thoroughly in this chapter. And thank you everyone again for your reviews! They make me very happy. Let me know what you think if you've got the time. Thank you as always.


	21. Love

Chapter 21 - Love

The candlelit dining room was a far cry from the splendor of the palace's vast and bright dining hall. Instead, portraits crowded every available wall. Here was a depiction of Allen and Celena as children, there, a stern-looking woman with severe brown hair in a high-necked dress, and opposite him, a young man with a bushy mustache and Allen's eyes. The candlelight made it look as if their eyes were peering back and forth at the strange visitors to their home. From what Hitomi knew about ghosts, she didn't doubt they weren't.

She slowly chewed her food. It similar to beef, but with a wilder flavor that was strangely delectable. It went well with the apple-like glaze. Hitomi ate it slowly, trying to savor it as she took in the conversations around her, her voice tired out from the story she and Van had told everyone during their time in the parlor. It was nice to sit back like that, attend to her own needs, and just listen. At times it was even entertaining, especially when Merle and Celena traded quips.

In spite of herself, Merle was warming up to the girl. It wasn't often she met anyone who wouldn't rise to her bait, and she seemed to be making a game of it, trying to come up with more and more outrageous things to say in hopes that Celena would get huffy or at least argue a bit.

"You want to learn to swordfight!?" she was saying. "What does a pampered little girl like you need to learn to fight for?"

Celena tossed ashy blond hair and grinned. "So I can fight off rogues and brigands when they threaten my honor! En garde!"

She picked up her dinner knife and speared it at Merle in a good imitation of a standard opening thrust.

"You're crazy!"

"Celena," Allen said warningly.

Shrugging, she put the knife down. "Anyway, I have to convince Brother here to pay for them first."

"I most certainly will not."

"Why?" Millerna piped up from the other side of Celena.

Her eyes, Hitomi noticed, where mischievous, and a teasing smile was playing about her lips. She'd been in a strange mood all night. Every time her sister spoke, Millerna would mention something about Allen, or about how she knew him so much better, and Eries would fall silent while Allen looked uncomfortable. Instead of apologizing for it, Millerna would just laugh and let the subject drop. She clearly knew that she was needling them, but to what ends Hitomi didn't understand. Millerna's attitude when they first met flashed through her mind. Back then, she'd been like this. Teasing, asking searching questions and giggling at how she could make everyone so uncomfortable on her behalf. In a way, Hitomi was disappointed. She'd come such a long way since then; why had she reverted to this? And why was she aiming her dubious skills at the people she loved?

"It simply isn't proper for a Lady of her station to engage in such rough arts. And with the reputation of our house as it is..."

He let the subject hang and took a sip from his glass, which was filled with an amber-colored wine he'd called _souturnel_.

"With the reputation as it is it shouldn't even matter," Celena countered, getting angry. "Why shouldn't we be pioneers? We've got nothing left to lose."

"Only that which I've built up in my service to the Caeli," Allen replied, his voice dangerous.

"You've got another kind of reputation too, though, don't you, Allen? Especially among women?" Millerna teased.

It was like she slapped him. His head actually jerked as he looked at her, his lips parted, and for the first time that night, Millerna's smile faltered. Celena looked from one to the other, confused.

"What is she-?" Celena began, but Allen stood up.

"Pardon me," he said. "I seem to have a sudden headache. I would be grateful if you would excuse me for a few moments to get some air."

He tossed his napkin on his chair, bowed, and exited. Eries stood, gave her sister a sharp look, and went after him before the door had closed in his wake.

"Millerna!" Hitomi said. "That was awful. How could you say something like that in front of his sister?"

"Something like what?" Celena pressed, but she was ignored.

Millerna tossed her proud head and glared at Hitomi. "It's not like he can't handle it. Why's everyone so touchy tonight?"

"Why are you being such a bitch?" Merle said, grinning as she easily voiced what everyone else was thinking.

"Merle!" Van snapped, but the action couldn't be undone.

Coloring, Millerna seemed to draw herself up without standing. "They won't talk to me. They've got this- this past together. Can't you see it? And they won't talk about it because they think I'm a child and can't handle it. I'm only trying to get them to say something, why can't I enjoy myself while I'm at it?"

"Gee, I guess they should have figured it out and spilled, then," Merle casually replied. "I mean, it's not like you could have asked them or anything. That would have been _rude._"

"You- you don't know- how dare you-"

"Merle, that's enough," Van said, and the catgirl began inspecting her nails.

"I don't have to listen to this!" Millerna got to her feet, gave them all one last imperious glare, and exited the room in the opposite direction of Allen and Eries.

"Millerna! Wait!" Hitomi cried. Hastily, she threw her napkin on the table, muttered an apology, and dashed after the departing princess, leaving Celena, Van, and Merle alone in the dining room.

The candles flickered and and whipped in the disturbed air, casting dancing shadows about their faces. Merle shrugged and kept on eating, while Van sat back in his chair, his arms across his chest, frowning hard. Celena, however, wasn't in the mood to sit in silence while he brooded.

"What did she mean," she determinedly asked, "By 'reputation?'"

Van suppressed a sigh. This was not how he had planned to spend his evening.

* * *

Hitomi pushed through what seemed like endless undergrowth in her pursuit of Millerna. She hadn't attempted to call out to her, knowing that she'd most likely be met with a snippy response, but she purposefully pressed on in her pursuit, knowing that the princess would have to stop sometime.

Finally, they reached a small clearing near the stables. Millerna collapsed on a stone bench and leaned on her hands, panting. Before Hitomi approached, however, she stopped and gasped at the beauty of the scene before her.

It was like a picture, or a movie. It may have been a trick of the light, but Millerna seemed to be emitting a silvery glow, from the crown of her head to the tips of her fingers. Millerna's hair was a softer blond in the moons' light, tinted with blue and silver as Earth and her moon shone down, their beams filtering through the hole in the canopy above them like the moment when the sun bursts through the clouds after a rainstorm. The leaves tangled in her hair and the dark green stains on her white gloves didn't make her look disheveled. Instead, they made her look like a nymph of the wood. Years later, Hitomi would remember her like that, and she would have to stop whatever she was doing and calm her heart, for it still wondered that one person could be so lovely.

"Millerna," she called, stepping into the clearing.

Her dress was short enough that it didn't drag over the leaves as she approached and the grass silenced her footsteps. Though she called to her, Millerna still jumped when Hitomi put a tentative hand on her shoulder.

"Hitomi," she thickly said. "What are you doing here?"

She was crying. Hitomi withdrew her hand in shock, held it to her chest for a second, and let it drop. All her questions about why she'd been behaving so cattily towards Allen and her sister vanished. Hitomi swallowed and sat down next to her friend. Whatever her reasons were for being so ugly, they could wait.

"I wanted to see if you were okay. Merle went too far."

"It doesn't matter," muttered Millerna as she wiped her tears away on a small white handkerchief she'd seemingly pulled out of nowhere.

At a loss for words, Hitomi blurted out the first thing she could thing of, and felt stupid as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. No. I don't know."

Tentatively, Hitomi sat down next to Millerna. "Is it... is it Allen?"

"It's not him. Oh, I'm not being honest, am I? It's him, a little. Him and my sister. Hitomi," she said, suddenly earnest, turning to her friend and taking her hands between hers, "Did Allen ever tell you anything about Eries? About their past together?"

"Um..."

Hitomi searched her memories. It was a confusing question to begin with, so it was difficult to focus her mind on what she may have heard him say in passing.

"The truth is we didn't really talk much," she confessed. "He never mentioned your sister..."

She trailed off, for something was tugging at the corner of her memories. Frowning, she concentrated, trying to will the feeling to reveal what it was trying to tell her. Something about a vision... Eries sitting in the coach, recalling a painful memory...

"Hitomi?"

"Well," she said slowly, "In the coach earlier, Eries looked really upset."

At least, thought Hitomi, Millerna had the grace to look uncomfortable.

"I didn't mean to, but I wanted to know what was wrong, and I kind of... had a vision."

Surprisingly, Millerna hesitated. Her eyebrows knit together and she opened her mouth, closed it again, swallowed, and pressed her lips in a thin line. Then, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and her expression relaxed.

"What did you see?" she almost whispered.

"Not much. It was just a fraction of a memory. I think Eries was talking to... to your other sister. About being in love with Allen. And Eries was..."

Hitomi was hesitant to reveal this part. She felt like she was barging in on something very private, something that Eries may not have wanted to share with Millerna. The yearning, sad expression in Millerna's eyes, however, won out in the end.

_I'm sorry, Eries._

"She was crying."

"Oh."

Millerna released Hitomi's hands, sat up straight, and looked away. Hitomi followed suit, clutching her left arm in a nervous gesture she'd had since childhood. She knew that she'd intruded on something she shouldn't have. Something between Allen and Eries and Millerna, even long-dead Marlene, something that was making Millerna miserable. Biting her lip, she wished she knew what to say to make things right, and struck at the first thing that popped into her head.

"Um, Millerna? Maybe you should try asking Allen about this. I know he'd tell you if he knew it was making you upset. He still really cares about you."

"I know."

She fell silent and wracked her brains trying to think of something else to say, but fell short. Her mind told her that she'd done all she could, but her heart was still uncertain.

"Listen. I'm going to go back to dinner. Everyone's probably worried about us by now. Will you come with me?"

Waving her hand but still not looking at Hitomi, she said, "I'll be along in a little while."

Hitomi got to her feet and smoothed her skirts, still not convinced that she'd said the right things. "Will you... will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"Okay..."

With a tiny sigh, Hitomi turned to go, taking care not to trip on any roots on her way back to the house.

"Hitomi?"

She stopped and turned back to see Millerna finally looking at her, a small smile just visible on her face.

"Thank you," she said.

The confusion in Hitomi's heart eased. With a warm smile, she nodded, and walked back to the house. The trees closed after her.

* * *

She found him leaning against a low stone wall just outside of the spacious ballroom, home old instruments and tables concealed ghost-like under swathes of white sheets. His white-shirted form was framed in the blue and silver moonlight, giving him the appearance of a ghost himself. It suited him. Allen Schezar, the past present in every move he made, finally assuming the shape of the memories that so haunted his every thought. If she could hold that image in her mind, she thought she would tell him later, and that he'd laugh and say she was being dramatic.

Eries slowly picked her way through the dusty furniture, her footsteps echoing behind her like the remnants of laughter from all the parties that had been held in that room. Allen didn't bother to turn around as she came up behind him. She knew that he recognized her.

"What are you doing here, Princess Eries?"

She smiled. "I never could surprise you."

"No one else walks like that."

Eries stopped next to him. Instead of clutching his shoulders and demanding to know what was wrong, as Millerna likely would have, she stared out at the quiet night with him and answered his question, giving him time to open up to her on his own, as he had so many times when they were growing up.

"Like what?"

"The toe of each foot first, like she's trying not to disturb the floor."

"Ah. I, at least, do not stomp upon it as if I'm trying to beat it into submission."

A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "It's been years since I moved like that. It was trained out of me quickly enough."

"I remember."

"You always do."

Out in the garden, the great pink and blue flowers swayed gently in the night breeze. A few petals shook loose from their moorings and flew crazily up and down, turning somersaults in the air as they drifted towards the open balcony where Eries and Allen stood together. A pale blue one twisted and turned up and up, lost its momentum and came tumbling down, finally landing in the strands of Eries' pale hair. Delicately, Allen took the stray petal between his fingers and held it there, twirling it absently as he spoke.

"I'm not sure what I'm doing," he said. "Celena was bound to find out about the nature of my reputation sooner or later, but I hadn't expected it to be done in such a blunt manner. I'd hoped to speak with her about it privately, after she'd had more time to work through her own problems. Or perhaps... I don't know."

"Or perhaps not at all," she finished for him. "You wanted to protect her forever."

"I suppose," he admitted, and let the petal fly away.

"Allen..." she began.

"No. I've been foolish. Worse, I've been cruel. Princess Millerna may have done me a favor by getting things out in the open like that, though it won't make my position on Celena ever learning to fight any easier to hold. I don't blame her for what she did. Not after what I did to her."

"Things don't work like that, Allen. An act of cruelty by someone else's hand doesn't serve as punishment for the sins you think you committed in the past, nor does it excuse any person's rude behavior in the present."

"I can't help it. My nature is repentant."

"And mine is logical," she countered. "I don't know why Millerna's been so needling towards you, but she seems to want something. Perhaps you should try talking to her in private, before the ball tomorrow."

"She's been awful to you too, Eries," he said, strangely reverting to the use of her given name, which he'd stopped doing more than five years past.

Put off her guard, she tried deflecting the question. "You know we've never really been able to understand each other."

"It's never been this bad. Not since she was an eight-year-old tomboy running away from having to learn her geography."

Eries softly laughed at the memory he conjured. It hadn't been pleasant at the time, but the way Allen phrased it made it seem like some comedy of errors. Professor Lucien, renowned scholar of Cesario hired at great expense to teach the royal princesses the lay of the land, had become so fed up with Millerna's constant fidgeting and impertinent questions that he called her up to the front of the room one hot summer's day and bid her hold out her hands. He then slapped them smartly three times with his pointer, not enough to cause lasting harm but enough to make an impressive sound. Sensitive Marlene had burst into tears at the sight of it while Eries angrily glared, willing Professor Lucien to drop dead for laying a hand on her little sister.

Millerna, however, didn't understand. She yelled that she was going to run away forever, kicked over the Professor's desk, leaped out the nearest window and ran for the hills. Not before accusing Eries of being angry at _her_, however, and not stuffy Professor Lucien.

It was Allen who found her late that night, shivering under a tree near the knight's barracks. It was how he and Eries met. He said he had to see the ugly, mean sister who'd made such a sweet little girl run away. She pushed him in the mud and said she'd never talk to him again for his insolence. After that, they were fast friends.

Until Marlene complicated things.

She pushed the memory aside. What was done was done. There was no use in contemplating how things might have been.

"You may be right. I'll try to speak with her, if she'll let me. I don't know whether she'll be willing to listen. We've never communicated particularly well."

Allen chuckled, and draped his arm over her shoulder. Her first instinct was to blush hotly and throw him off, like she would have when they were kids together, but so much had changed since then. Especially them. So she laced her own arm around his waist and pulled him closer to her. She could feel his heart through where her shoulder touched his chest. Steady, slow, and strong. He smelled slightly of old-fashioned cologne and a great deal more like creek water, in which he had bathed earlier that day. They didn't need to speak. They understood.

_Let this moment last,_ she thought, and laid her head against his chest.

* * *

As Millerna stood in the doorway, watching them together, all of the determined questions she'd been planning to fire at them died on her tongue. She gripped the doorway and breathed slowly, in and out, her lips parted as if in speech.

What Hitomi had told her went through her mind again and again. The scene before her only served as further evidence to what she'd slowly begun to suspect less than a week ago. This was why Eries had been so discouraging to her when she tried to confess her feelings for Allen, a man she thought had no personal connection to her sister aside from his rotation on escort duty.

_You mean when you were throwing yourself at him._ she reminded herself. _Isn't that how you put it the other day?_

Love.

_But that wasn't all. Couldn't she have been protecting you from a fate like Marlene's?_

She pressed her lips closed and felt her face go red as she tried not to cry.

_I would have understood if she'd just confided in me. Everything with her is secrets and half-truths. Why didn't anyone tell me? Why didn't they?_

Abruptly, she turned away and stalked down the hallway, her slippered feet silent on the cool wooden floor. She needed to be elsewhere. She'd had enough of secrets.

* * *

Hitomi arrived back in the dining room to the wild laughter of Celena. Van was standing at the nearest window, drink in hand, apparently divorcing himself from whatever conversation was taking place around him, while Merle was actually leaning on the table with her chin propped in both hands, a self-satisfied grin on her face, tail waving back and forth in gloating pleasure. Across from her, Celena was holding her stomach, almost crying from mirth.

"He- he- he did not!" she giggled.

"No! It's true! Then he took that barmaid's hand like this," she said, taking one of Celena's in demonstration and gazing deeply into her eyes, "and went, 'Please forgive the uncouth behavior of my companions. It wouldn't do for such a lovely lady to be out of spirits. Please, allow me to make it up to you by escorting you home,' and she almost _fainted_."

Celena almost shrieked with laughter. Still a little confused, Hitomi sidled up to Van, took his hand, and gave it a squeeze.

"Hey," she said.

"Hitomi." He flashed her a brief smile. "Did you talk to Millerna?"

"Yes. What's going on?"

Van uncomfortably frowned. "They're talking about Allen. Celena wouldn't let the subject drop after you left."

"I guess Merle was happy to fill her in," Hitomi sighed. "Poor Allen. He isn't going to like this."

Shrugging, Van took a sip of his drink and continued his task of staring out the window. She guessed that he didn't care much that the ex-boyfriend of the girl he was dating might suffer a bout of embarrassment.

"Come on," she said, her hand still in his. "Let's finish our dinner."

Again he shrugged and followed Hitomi to the table, setting depleted his glass of wine down next to his equally empty plate. Everyone had finished their meal in her absence, she noticed with a twinge of regret. It really was a delicious selection of food. She wished that they'd all been able to eat it together. At least one of the servants had the forethought to cover the plates of all those absent from the table, so her food was still warm.

Hitomi loaded up her fork and listened as Merle continued her story. "...it took him, like, an hour to get back. He said that she lived a long walk from the bar but no one bought that. I mean, she worked there. Who lives a half hour from where they work?"

"Rich people," Celena promptly supplied.

"Exactly! I think we both know that she was a working girl."

"Merle!" Hitomi shrieked, her voice drowned out by the cascades of laughter from the other two girls. Even Van gave a twitch of a smile, Hitomi noticed with a disapproving frown. To hide the pink tinge on his face that appeared under the fire of her glare, Van refilled his glass and took a large gulp.

"Oh that's priceless! I didn't know half these stories!" Celena gasped, wiping tears from her eyes.

Hitomi blinked, confused. "You mean... you knew some already?"

The laughter in Celena's face faltered and faded. She Picked at the table cloth in front of her and said, her head bowed, "Just a few. All the ones I- Dilandau heard. You know, among the troops. Rumors get around."

"Huh," said Merle. "I guess Millerna didn't screw up as much as we thought she did."

An uncomfortable silence blanketed the room, which everyone but Merle felt keenly. She stretched while everyone else avoided each other's eyes, and looked out the nearest window, probably to see if there was anything interesting now that Hitomi had killed the conversation.

"I... I don't think Allen's reputation is really... I don't think he's that kind of person," Hitomi struggled to articulate. "He's not like that."

The sound of nearby hoofbeats clattered through the open windows, and everyone turned gratefully towards that welcome distraction. What Hitomi saw almost made her drop her fork in surprise. A lone rider, long blond hair streaming behind her, was quickly departing the Schezar grounds on what was unmistakably the horse Van had ridden earlier that night.

"Did Millerna just steal Van's horse?" Merle said, obviously delighted.

"Looks like," Van said grimly.

"She must have had a reason for it," said Hitomi, her voice uncertain.

Merle was happy to supply, "Sure, she wanted to run away from what a mess she made of everything."

"Merle!" snapped Van.

The catgirl flinched a little but recovered in a trice, stubbornly insisting, "Well, she is. Don't get mad at me just because I say what everyone's thinking."

"I should hope that not all of us are so uncharitable," Allen's quiet voice intoned.

Hitomi looked up just as Merle jumped and nearly dashed under the table. He was standing in the doorway, Eries next to him, her face unreadable as usual. As they stood together in the candlelight, both casting dancing grey light from their silvery hair, Hitomi was struck by how elegant they seemed. To her, Allen had always been the epitome of what it meant to be a perfect knight, if he was a little rough around the edges, and Eries a distant, powerful figure of whom Hitomi knew little, rather like the picture of a princess made of porcelain rather than the real thing. As they stood before her, something crystallized in her thoughts and she felt like she was seeing them as they were for the first time. They matched.

"Allen," she said.

Celena, her face flushed, got to her feet and said, "Brother!"

"We need to talk, Celena," Allen said. "I think... I may not have been fair to you. Would you be willing to speak with me, after our guests leave?"

No one in the room, not even Merle, could have missed that kind of hint. For a moment, Celena seemed like she was about to disagree with her brother. Her eyebrows furrowed and she opened her mouth, but then, just as suddenly, she closed it.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Okay. Can I give Hitomi her present first, though?"

Hitomi blinked. "Present?"

"Didn't Merle tell you?"

All eyes moved to Merle and she carefully looked away, her tail waving nonchalantly behind her.

"What?" she said. "I forgot."

Some of the tension eased from the room and Hitomi almost burst out laughing. At least Merle could be counted on for some things.

Celena sighed. "I'll be right back."

She pushed her way past Allen and Eries and disappeared down the long hall. She was quickly out of sight.

Eries turned to the rest of the party and said, "I've signaled the coachmen to ready the horses. They should be ready soon."

"Right," said Van. "Goodnight Allen, Princess."

He got to his feet and clasped Allen's outstretched hand briefly before bowing to Eries, who returned the gesture with unmeasurable grace.

"Until tomorrow, King Van," she said.

That done, he turned to Hitomi, who was startled by the intensity of his gaze. Though he didn't say anything, she could sense that he had something he wanted to tell her, and he wasn't going to do it in front of Allen. She wished she could read his thoughts and get it over with.

"Don't take too long," he said, and finally turned and left, Merle trailing at his heels.

"What was that all about?" Eries murmured.

"Hitomi," said Allen. "How are you?"

"Fine! I'm fine," she lied.

Why had Van left her alone like that? She looked uncomfortably from one to the other and tried to think of something to say, but nothing appropriate came to mind. What had happened earlier kept drifting to the forefront of her thoughts, and she really didn't know how to bring it up.

Luckily, Eries did it for her. "Please forgive Millerna for her behavior tonight. I am certain she didn't mean the things she said."

That irked Hitomi. "She already apologized to me. Do you really need to do it for her?"

Taken aback, Eries tried to explain. "I was merely expressing what I assume she would for me, if I had behaved in such a way."

"I know she's your sister, but that isn't really your place. You don't even know what she's thinking. Have you even asked?"

The princess seemed to draw herself up, and she actually narrowed her eyes. Such a display of emotion from Eries was a rarity in itself, but coupled with the astonished look and Allen's face as he stood beside her and the color that was flushing her pale cheeks, she seemed downright dangerous. The bottom dropped out of Hitomi's stomach and she wished she could take it back.

"Sorry," she said. "I... sorry."

"Hitomi!"

Celena burst through the door, panting, a long, thin package wrapped in brown ribbon clutched to her chest. Without waiting for a reply, she thrust it into Hitomi's arms.

"Don't open it until you're back at the castle, okay?"

Hitomi could tell she had little choice in the matter. "O-okay. Thank you."

Celena grinned, her white teeth flashing in the dim room. "You're welcome. Thanks for coming tonight."

There was a short pause, and then Allen, still collecting himself, said, "Yes, thank you both for your presence this evening. You are always welcome here, Hitomi, Princess Eries."

With a sinking feeling, Hitomi remembered that Eries was leaving, too. She just hoped that her upcoming death at the princess' hands would be quick and merciful. As they were ushered out the door, she wondered if she could get Van to protect her, but morosely concluded that he wouldn't risk an international incident.

Eries kept silent all the way back to the coach. Merle was already inside by the time they arrived, though, curiously, Van had not yet climbed aboard. Silently, he took the package from Hitomi and handed it to Merle, who looked as if she'd dearly love to open it herself. One look from Van, however, and she shrugged and tossed it on the seat opposite her

As the coachman handed Eries inside, Van took Hitomi's hand and pulled her gently, obviously intending her to follow him. For a moment, she looked over her shoulder at the coach, where Merle sat staring at them and Eries gazed at nothing, her face blank. The coachman had already closed the door and was assuming his position, Hitomi and Van apparently forgotten.

"Don't worry," he said. "They're going on without us."

"But... how are we going to get back?"

"It's a surprise."

She felt a little thrill go through her, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be upset with him for not asking her to the ball. Hitomi squeezed his hand and stepped towards him.

"Okay," she whispered. "I trust you."

The horses shook themselves and the coachman slapped the reins against their backs. With a clatter of hooves against cobblestones, the coach rumbled into life. When it pulled away, Hitomi and Van were gone.

In Asturia the next day, several people would remark to each other on the rain of beautiful white feathers that fell over the city late the previous night. A white dragon, people said, must have flown above the city on its way over the sea. A good omen. But no one could explain the single lady's shoe that landed on the blacksmith's roof, waking the both he and his wife.

* * *

Dryden was exhausted. Not only had the flight home taken far longer than it should, but he had been bogged down all day making preparations for his part in the summit. Without Eries' insightful advice to guide him, he'd had to rely solely on his own ideas to guide him. It wasn't that he didn't have the skill for politics; on the contrary, his opinion of his own intelligence was only a slight exaggeration if its true quality. It was simply that he really didn't _want_ to deal with it, and if they'd just arrived on schedule, he was sure he could have charmed Eries into writing his speeches for him. Then he would have been able to get some some well-deserved rest.

"Goodnight, sir!" one of the palace porters called as Dryden made his way out of the airship hangars.

He gave a half-hearted wave in response and the porter saluted. The sooner he was out of this ridiculous house of protocol and intrigue and into bed, he thought, the better. Hopefully his mother had thought to have his bed ready. He'd hate to have to make it himself when he was already about to collapse.

"Wait! Princess!" a distant voice echoed through the cavernous hallways, followed by reverberating footsteps.

Dryden stopped in his tracks. The word "princess" coupled with the word "wait" could only mean one girl was headed his way, and he felt his heart skip a beat in the most ridiculously childish way.

"Steady, man," he whispered. "Chances are she'll ignore you. Just keep walking, and don't forget to smile."

He unconsciously smoothed his hair and stood a little taller as he rounded the next corner. He could see her now, that golden hair of hers streaming behind her as she tore down the hall.

Clearing his throat and smiling his most charming smile, he said, "Good evening, Princess."

Millerna stopped in her tracks and stared up at him, and the cheesy grin slid off his face. Her usually unmarked cheeks were dusty and wet, and her eyes were rimmed with redness. She was panting, which was unsurprising given that she'd just stopped from a dead gallop, but Dryden could tell that it wasn't simply exhaustion that was making her breathe so hard. She was deeply upset.

"H-hey," he faltered, letting his hand fall to his waist. "You're crying."

"I know that!" she shot back.

He expected her to run after that, but instead she just stood there, glaring at him. He supposed that could be counted as progress.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, after a few moments of silence.

"Ah, I just got in from Zaibach. Headwinds slowed us down a bit, but hey, at least I got some work done. I was hoping I could get your sister to help me with my speech, but-"

"My sister," Millerna said, clearly miserable. "Is occupied."

A few tears escaped and slid down her face, and she angrily wiped them off, getting dirt on her white gloves.

"Hey, don't do that," Dryden said, pulling a blue handkerchief out of his pocket. "Here, use this. I promise it's completely clean, okay? Sorry I mentioned your sister. I didn't know you two were fighting."

She took it, wiped her face, and said, "We're not," from behind the scrap of silk.

This confused Dryden, but he wisely decided that to push the subject further would not be the best decision at this time.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sorry it happened to you. Don't cry, okay? You're too pretty to cry."

Clumsily, he reached out and used his thumb to brush another tear from her cheek. She looked back at him, unmoving, letting him have this one moment of touch. Those eyes of hers, he felt, saw right into whatever soul he had. Jichia above, she was beautiful.

Suddenly, as if she'd used magic, she was there in front of him, her face buried in his chest.

"Hey. Hey. What's gotten into you? I thought you hated me."

"Don't," she said.

Her voice was soft and muffled. He could feel her breath through his layers of clothing. It was warm and wet. As he slowly rubbed her back with his free hand, he couldn't help thinking how small she felt, even though she was known as a tall woman among the court. Maybe that was why all the thoughts he'd had of going home to bed were now far less important than they had been a moment ago. If she needed him, he'd be there. He was trying to be a better man, after all.

"Whatever you want," he replied.

Under the weight of his hand and enclosed in the warmth of his body, Millerna began to sob in earnest. He dropped his notes and books and they scattered around the two of them like leaves in the night breeze.

With both arms around her, he whispered, "Don't cry. Hey. It's okay. I'm here. Don't cry."

* * *

With a flurry of snow-white feathers, Van and Hitomi landed on the highest tower of the Asturian palace, sans one shoe. Hitomi's stockinged foot felt a shock of cold as she touched down on the smooth stones of the tower.

"Van, that was wonderful!" she breathed, beaming at him.

He shrugged, his wings shaking behind him in conjunction with the movement of his shoulders.

"You looked like you needed a break."

"I did," she said. "Thank you."

He shrugged again and looked away. "It's nothing."

It was strange. He was being unusually terse, even for him. What was stranger in her eyes, though, was that he was standing there, his wings out, and not quickly retracting them and pulling on his shirt as usual.

"Van," she said, stepping toward him, being careful not to brush against his exposed wings. "Is there something on your mind?"

"You said you wanted to talk to me," he replied.

Oh. In the confusion of the night, it had completely slipped her mind. The ball.

Fidgeting, she tucked her hair behind her ears and felt very silly as she said, "Oh. It's... it feels sort of weird saying this, but I found out from, um, Millerna, that there's a... there's a ball tomorrow."

His wings twitched, but since he was looking away from her, she couldn't tell if he was reacting to her words or whether it was just a coincidence. When he didn't reply, she pressed on.

"Merle said it was strange that you hadn't told me yet. I... I agree. Were you planning on asking me to go with you? Or did you want to go with someone else?"

There. She said it. Holding her breath, she braced herself for her inevitable rejection. But much to her surprise, Van actually started laughing. He turned to her, and she finally saw the relief on his face that he'd been keeping so unreadable for so long.

"That's it? You didn't think I wanted you to come with me to a ball? Hitomi, I wouldn't go with anyone else. I thought you knew."

"You thought I knew!" she repeated, both relieved and slightly annoyed now that he was laughing so hard. "You didn't tell me! No one did! How was I supposed to know!"

He shook his head, unable to speak.

"Stop that! Why are you laughing so hard!?"

"Everyone," he managed to get out. "Everyone's been talking about it. I just... ha! I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I didn't think you'd think twice about it."

"Oh, ha ha," she said. "And it didn't have anything to do with you being too nervous to say anything yourself."

Instantly, he sobered up. "I didn't say that."

"Struck a nerve, did I?" she said with a mischievous grin.

"Hey!"

He made a move to grab her, but she slipped away, laughing as much as he had been earlier. Track training had made her fast, but with his wings, Van was much faster. He lunged for her and caught her around the waist. For a few minutes, she pretended to struggle, but he held fast.

"I'm still mad at you," she insisted. "You should have known better. Don't they teach you this stuff in King school?"

"I don't know what you're talking about half the time," he said, his voice low.

He was breathing hard, his nose buried in her hair and the back of her neck. Ever so gently, the feathers on his back were breaking up and floating away, creating a shower of luminescent white feathers around them that shimmered and swirled before disappearing into the night. Now, she supposed, he didn't feel the need to fly away anymore.

"If you weren't worried about that," she said, her voice soft, "What were you worried about?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he turned her around and tightly embraced her. As she returned his sudden gesture, her breast pressed against him, she could feel his heart beating fast, like a bird's.

"Van?"

"I thought you were going to leave me," he whispered.

"What?" she exclaimed, pushing him away so that his arms slipped from her shoulders and settled around her waist. "I wouldn't! Where did you-"

He silenced her with a long kiss. One hand on the small of her back pressed her to him, and the other moved to her face, turning her head this way and that. She made an involuntary noise and his attentions intensified, leaving her thoroughly winded when they finally broke apart.

"Van," she panted. "You can't... change the subject like that. Why did you think I was going to leave all of a sudden? I'm not ready to go. And I'd never leave without saying goodbye to everyone first. You know that."

"It doesn't matter," he insisted, shaking his head. "It was stupid."

There was something else, she knew, and she wanted to But the look in his dark eyes was so pleading that she let it go. Begging in any form from Van was unsettling; it didn't suit him. Especially when it was directed toward her. Eventually, she knew that the subject they'd been so careful to avoid since their fight on the observation deck of Dryden's flagship would have to be breached again. At that moment, however, there was plenty of time to wait.

"Probably not as stupid as you think," she said, and traced the line of his jaw with her fingertips.

Behind them, the Mystic Moon and its silver sister sank below the horizon, and the myriad stars grew brighter in the dark sky. Van caught her fingers with his hand and brought them to his lips.

_Let this last,_ she thought. _Please, let this last._

* * *

**A/N:** That was a long one.

I haven't forgotten. Come hell or high water, this story will be finished. And now, I can even see all the way to the end.

Everyone who's been reading: thank you. And thank you especially to Kae and jossi for your words of encouragement over these past couple of months. I think about this story every day, but for a while I had almost resigned myself to the idea that it was uninteresting. Thank you for your words. Being told that I should finish and that people actually do like it really makes it easier to keep going. So thank you. Thank you. And thank you again.


	22. The Girl from the Mystic Moon

Chapter 22 - The Girl from the Mystic Moon

Captain Amparo of the flying fortress _Brescia_ was nervous. You could see it in the tic of his jaw, in the way his finger moved back and forth over the silver hilt of his sword, now worn to a dull polish from only weeks of such abuse. The war was over. How could this be happening? And happening now?

"I'm not interested in how far ahead of us he is, private," he said. "Tell me how long it is until we catch him."

The red-faced young private stuttered as he went over the readouts. "T- ten hours sir! If he c-continues at th-this speed we sh-sh-should catch him in t-t-ten hours."

"That puts him inside city limits. We can't afford an incident. I suggest," he added, turning to his gathered men with a click of his boots, "That we increase our speed. Divert all power to the energists. Cut unnecessary functions; inner lighting, air circulation in the lower decks, anything. Just get us there before he reaches the city walls."

"Sir!"

They scattered like droplets of water after a stone's throw. Each man to his own task, each part of the machine redirecting itself for the greater good. All Amparo had left to do was wait.

"May the Emperor's ghost preserve us all if we don't stop him in time."

Around him, the engines grew hot.

* * *

Hitomi woke from an uneasy sleep. The cool grey light of dawn had not yet given in to the rosy sunrise which was the norm in Pallas, so the room was still half in shadow, and she couldn't quite see the colors in the sheets that lay tangled about her feet. She put her arms on her knees and rested her head there, taking long, slow breaths.

What was it that she dreamed? She could remember the shape of a person, someone young, someone she'd met before, and the sound of sirens. He was chasing something. But what? She tried to concentrate on the image that had startled her out of sleep, but the more she tried to catch it, the further away it got, until it left her with nothing but a sense of unease.

Next to her, Van stirred in his sleep. She snapped out of her reverie and watched him as he made a noise like "warrgarbl," and turned on his side, towards her. The fact that he was still there, with her, made the last remaining feelings from her dream evaporate. She was happy she'd been able to convince him to stay with her again. Their success of the previous nights in going undetected by the palace staff had only served to strengthen her case, and he'd given after only a half-hearted argument. It was amazing, she thought, how wonderful it felt to have him sleeping beside her every night. In passing, she wondered how it would feel to let it all go.

There was a slight frown on his face, as if the scowl he habitually wore in life had become so permanent that even sleep couldn't erase it. His eyebrows, however, were relaxed. She resisted the urge brush his hair out of his eyes. He needed to rest.

Not that she'd be getting anymore sleep for the time being. Being careful to make as little noise as possible, she got to her feet and stretched. Van mumbled something again and turned onto his stomach.

It was lighter now, and she could easily distinguish colors and shapes. As she paced to the window to look out on the awakening city, something caught her eye. The package that Celena had given her the night before was lying on top of the trunk at the foot of her bed, where she kept her gym bag and all its contents. She stopped, and let her fingers linger over the package. What had Celena said? To wait until she was in her room? After a moment's thought, she made her decision, picked up the package, and carried it with her to the open balcony. She could see better out there.

The ribbon came away with one easy tug. Eagerly, she lifted off the lid of the box. What she saw made her catch her breath.

It was a dress. Its main color was blue. Not navy blue, or pale sky blue, but a green-blue that was exactly the right shade to bring out the lighter greens in her eyes. It was an unusual color for Asturia, where women wore mostly pink, white, red, black, and brown, but it matched Hitomi exactly, more than any of the dresses that she'd borrowed from Millerna over the past few days.

She pulled it out of the box and held it against herself in the increasing light. It was a simple dress which would flatter her lithe, athletic form perfectly. It didn't have many cuts or gathers, just a suggestion of a shape at the hips, waist, and breasts. The neckline was just below her collarbone, and it joined at each shoulder with lovely, blue-green jewels as accents. There were no sleeves. The skirt was made of two layers of the satiny fabric, with the bottom being a lovely green that complimented the turquoise color of the rest of the fabric. The underskirt was slitted up to the knees, and the upper skirt was slitted all the way up to the hips. It would allow unrestricted movement as she danced.

Underneath it, she saw, were two smaller packages and a short letter.

_The tailor had some extra fabric left over from my dresses, so I had her make you one. Allen picked the color and told the tailor that it should be made so it wasn't restricting, but she didn't have a lot of fabric so she had to improvise a little bit. He gave her your measurements, too, so it should fit pretty well. I guess spending his youth around princesses gave him a knack for remembering that kind of thing. There's also some gloves you can wear, and some shoes and a necklace I found at the market. You can wear it to the ball if you want. It's probably not as nice as some of the stuff you have on the Mystic Moon, but I hope you like it. _

_Thanks for talking to me._

_-Celena_

In her head, her proper upbringing was screaming at her to send such a lavish gift back. What could she have possibly have done to deserve something so lovely? She ran her fingertips over the cool fabric and relished in the feel of it, like water woven into cloth. Then, after glancing at Van to make sure he was still asleep, she held it up to her body and spun around in a circle just as the golden sun broke over the Chatal Mountains in the East. At that, she knew she couldn't send it back. She'd already accepted it in her heart.

With care, Hitomi folded the dress back up and laid it back in its box for safekeeping. On tiptoe, she walked back inside and set the package down on the trunk. Though she was diligent in her efforts to make minimal noise, the box did land on the wooden chest with a quiet thunk that caused Van to stir in his sleep.

"Hitomi?" he mumbled, one hand searching where she'd been sleeping mere moments ago.

"I'm here," she said, climbing back into bed. "I couldn't go back to sleep."

Van sat up and yawned like a cat. "Sun's up. We should get up before someone finds us."

"No," she said, snuggling under one of his arms. "Let's sleep in a little longer."

"Mmm," he yawned.

They flopped back down onto the bed together, he absentmindedly smoothing her hair, and she tracing circles on his chest with her palm. It was so comfortable there.

_If every morning with him is like this, I could do it forever_, she thought.

"I think it's going to be a really nice day," she whispered.

"Hmm."

She kissed him on the chin, and let herself relax until she was once again asleep. They did not rise again until Merle entered the room an hour after dawn and dropped the basket of bread she was carrying with a piercing shriek.

* * *

_Emperor Regent Adelphos Gein of the Zaibach Empire, greetings from King Van Slanzar de Fanel of Fanelia. It is the morning after we last spoke and my companions and I have made it safely to Asturia, due in no small part to the actions of the Ispano, which you doubtlessly saw the night of our departure. _

_This did not happen by chance. One of your Sorcerers, a man called Paruchi, attempted to imprison and experiment upon myself, my companion Hitomi Kanzaki, and one of the Ispano themselves against all of our wills. This is in direct violation of your recent ban on the experimentation on self-aware beings. I thought it unlikely that you were aware of the situation, and felt the need to rectify it through this letter at my earliest possible convenience. _

_There is another thing. Though it pains me to suggest that one of your subjects could be disloyal, I do not trust Paruchi, and I am certain that he will be a threat to the security of your nation in the future. He has already made an enemy of the Ispano, and through his actions, has made an enemy of Fanelia. A man as intelligent and resourceful as Paruchi has doubtlessly covered his tracks very well and there is likely little evidence of his actions at this time, but in my experience, if a man is willing to disobey the orders of his King in order to follow his own twisted agenda, that man is capable of outright treachery if offered the slightest incentive. Coupled with the cruelty I have witnessed at his hands, I have no small doubts that Paruchi is highly dangerous to both of our countries, and must be dealt with the moment this letter reaches your hands. _

_I shall send further word after the summit two days from now. _

_Van Fanel, King._

By the time this letter reached the hands of Adelphos, it was the morning of the summit in Asturia. Van and his party had already been gone for two days. If what Van wrote in his letter was true, the Regent mused, Paruchi was most likely halfway across Gaea by now.

He wasn't, however, a man known for his tendency to ignore things. He immediately dispatched two groups of soldiers; one to check Paruchi's residence and laboratories, and one to check the hangars for every guymelef in the city. Then, he sat at his desk, drank five cups of coffee, and drafted two new laws to be approved by the Council of Noble Citizens until midday, when the first team returned.

Paruchi was not in residence, nor did his servants have any idea when he was to return. This news, he knew, was neither good nor bad. It was the second team's report that would make or break the entire case.

By the time the second team returned, it was already midday, and Adelphos had just sat down for a light lunch. The Regent's head secretary made sure his master was finished before he allowed the team leader in to deliver his own piece of news, no matter how earnestly he insisted that the Regent needed to see him immediately.

One Guymelef was reported missing from the East Hangars. They had also found the body of the soldier that piloted that Guymelef in the moat outside of the Sorcerers' laboratories.

After firing his secretary, Adelphos sent word through the late Emperor's resonant communication system to every ship in the fleet to be on the lookout for a stolen Zaibach Guymelef piloted by a disgraced Sorcerer. They were to stop him at all costs. If Paruchi was indeed headed towards where Adelphos' own very shrewd guess pointed him, unless he could be contained, it would mean another war. And war was the last thing Zaibach could afford.

* * *

"Merle," Hitomi called, keeping pace with the pink-haired girl who was thoroughly ignoring her. "Come on, say something, Merle. Merle!"

"Hmph!" said Merle. She flicked her tail back and forth in irritation.

The heat of the day was bearing down upon them, making Hitomi long for home and irritating Merle to no end. There wasn't even a hint of wind to alleviate the pressure. Back at the steps of the summit chambers, various delegates were mopping their foreheads and fanning themselves with their own notes for speeches and records of what they'd just heard in the opening arguments.

Merle and Hitomi had both been present, sitting on Fanelia's side with Van, Rhum, and his wolfmen. Though Van had insisted that Hitomi stand with Fanelia for the sake of their country's morale, she'd been very uncomfortable filling that capacity, and the cut-throat politics had both confused and upset her. What made her most uncomfortable, however, was the way Merle refused to look at either of them. Since she caught them in bed together that morning, she'd become uncharacteristically silent. Now that the leaders had retired into the deliberation room, Hitomi thought that she would try and make Merle talk to her, so that she understood what she'd seen that morning. However, she wasn't having any luck.

"Please, Merle. We might not have a lot of time before we have to go back inside. Talk to me. Merle!"

"I have nothing to say!" the catgirl growled.

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't!"

"You're never this quiet!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Hitomi! Merle!" A light, clear voice piped up.

Both girls turned and saw Celena standing behind them, apparently fresh from the market, her arms filled with wrapped packages.

"Celena," said Hitomi, forcing her face into a smile in the hope that Celena wouldn't notice what had just transpired. "what are you doing here?"

"I came to visit Allen. He said that everyone would be taking a break about now. Was he standing with Princess Eries again? I guess he's probably still with her."

"Um, yes, probably," Hitomi said.

Celena let out a long, contented sigh. "That's so nice."

Hitomi felt the tight fist of confusion that clouded her heart ease a little, and she gave a half-laugh. Celena was right. It was nice, in a way that she didn't quite understand.

"They didn't look like they were having any fun," she joked.

"They never do. Anyway, what are you two doing here?"

Merle took one look at all the packages Celena was hefting and snapped, "We're doing something useful."

"What, arguing?"

All the hair on Merle's tail stood on end. Quickly, Hitomi said, "Van asked us to stand with Fanelia today."

"You mean he asked _you_," Merle snapped. "I was already representing my country. He probably did it because he didn't want you to feel left out."

That stung. Hitomi had been having the same thoughts herself, as soon as Van had asked her to join him. After all, she had no political experience outside of what she'd seen the day she told the countries of Gaea what had happened the last day of the Destiny War.

"That's not fair, Merle."

"Who cares what's fair!" Merle shouted, attracting the attention of several onlookers. "You don't care what's fair! You don't care about anything but yourself! Otherwise you wouldn't- you wouldn't have"

"Merle, please-"

"Shut up!" she cried, tears now visible on her cheeks. "I can't look like this when there's something so important going on! Leave me alone, for Fanelia's sake!"

And, without waiting for an answer, she turned and ran. Hitomi immediately tried to go after her, but Celena grabbed her arm just in time, letting her pile of packages spill onto the cobblestone street.

"Let her go," she said.

"But why? Why can't she just talk to me?"

"Sometimes you've got to leave people alone," Celena said, not unkindly, but in a tone of voice that made Hitomi feel suddenly guilty.

"She's upset because of something I did. Or something she thinks I did. I can't let her think that we-" Hitomi felt the color rising in her cheeks, and stopped herself. "She's got the wrong idea. I don't think she understands what she saw, and she won't even let me explain."

"I dunno," Celena said. "Sati says that people see what they want to see a lot of the time. Maybe she wants to be upset."

"Why would anyone want to be upset?"

Celena shrugged. "Maybe she needs it."

Hitomi sighed, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess. Oh, I'm sorry about your packages!"

She and Celena squatted down and began gathering up the slightly banged-up boxes. Once they were gathered together again, Hitomi thanked Celena profusely for the dress that she'd given her, and Celena had smiled so contentedly, so much like a teenage girl, that Hitomi felt like she'd somehow done some good just by saying thank you.

"I'm going to go meet my brother. I'm glad I ran into you, though. I'll see you tonight, okay? You have to promise."

"I promise," Hitomi said.

Celena began to walk away, and then seemed to remember something in mid step.

"Hey," she said, turning back to Hitomi, "Do you want to go to lunch with us? I'm sure Allen wouldn't mind."

"I don't know... I don't want to be a bother..."

"Oh you are not! That settles it. I hope you like Cesarian food."

The rest of the break, Hitomi spend in the company of Allen and Celena. Allen was all consideration as usual, pulling out her chair for her, being sure she had the best view, and warmly conversing with her when he could get a word around his sister. He stopped short, however, at ordering her food for her, something which she was grateful for at first, but upon seeing what she'd picked out for herself (a plate of very raw meat), she wished she'd allowed it in the first place. Celena laughed and ordered extra desserts.

After their meal, Hitomi thanked her friends again for their generosity and was again told to think nothing of it. When Hitomi insisted that they'd been far too wonderful to her, Allen took her hand and brought it to his lips.

"You can make it up to me, then, with a dance. I know I can't claim the first dance, but if you'd honor me with the second, I think that I will be far more in your debt than you in mine."

The old infatuation Hitomi used to feel for Allen stirred a little, and she felt herself blush. But she didn't quibble or stammer like she would have only a few months before. Instead, she smiled, and said that she'd think about it.

A half hour later, Hitomi leaned over the edge of the enclave in which the Fanelia delegation had been seated. Her eyes scanned the line of returning leaders, who were gathering in a loose group on the raised stage in the center of the round room, for Van.

"Look, there he is," Rhum said, his claw picking Van's figure out of the streaming crowd. He was coming out just behind the Queen of Egzardia, who was wearing robes of such a bright red that it was no wonder that Hitomi couldn't spot him. Chid followed quickly at his heels. It looked like he and Van were talking.

"How'd you know I was looking for him?" Hitomi whispered.

Rhum scratched his chin and grinned. "Who else would you be looking for?"

Merle slid into her seat beside Hitomi, but refused to look at her. Though Hitomi very much wanted to say something, she kept Celena's advice in mind and held her tongue. It was hard. She wished Merle would just talk to her instead of lashing out every time she tried to break the ice. Now she'd really made a mess of things.

She thought that Merle would give in if only Van insisted, but when she'd asked him that morning, Van had merely shrugged and said that she would come around once she had gotten used to things. At least no one else had found them, he'd darkly insinuated.

Hitomi shuddered. It wasn't that she necessarily minded if people knew they were sharing the same bed from time to time. A part of her almost wanted people to know. It was something in her mind to be shared with people, since it made her so happy, and she delighted in sharing her happiness with people. But customs on Gaea, she knew, were very different from customs back home. And to be honest, she thought, customs back home weren't so fluid either. Especially not for girls still in high school.

She didn't think he'd be joining her that night.

Behind the high podium which stood on the raised dias in the center of the stage on which the gathered leaders stood, Dryden adjusted his glasses, rustled his notes, said, "The council will now come to order."

The resounding conversation that had filled the room for the last two hours died down until all was silence. This was the moment that everyone had been waiting for.

"I will now read the resolutions we've come to on behalf of all the nations on both sides of the Destiny War."

"That sounds good," Hitomi whispered.

"Shh!" hissed Merle.

Hitomi glared at her for a second, then refocused on Dryden's words.

"Item one: economic aid in the form of monies, food, medicine, equipment, and labor will be offered by Asturia, Basram, Cesario, Deadalus, and Egzardia to the Kingdom of Fanelia and the Duchy of Freid with lowered interest, and a period of thirty-five years to pay off the loans at the current yearly interest rate of 0.02 percent. If the loans are not paid off in that period of time, the interest rate will raise to 0.05 percent and climb by 0.03 percent each year unless another agreement can be reached between the nations in question."

It was because of Dryden's purposeful pause that Hitomi was able to hear Rhum let out a long breath and mutter, "Thank the Dragons the King was able to do that much. We'll be fighting off marriage offers in the next few years, though, you can be sure of that."

A queer pang went off in Hitomi's heart, but she wasn't able to pay much attention to it, as Dryden had resumed his speech.

"Item two: upon consideration of the great devastation of the Zaibach Empire, as witnessed afterward by myself, Van Slanzar de Fanel of Fanelia, and the generals of Asturia, Basram, Cesario, Deadalus, and Egzardia during and after the deployment of the energist bomb, the Alliance has elected to reserve areas of our own farmland on behalf of Zaibach, on the condition that they retain peace with all of Gaea for the next twenty years. If this condition is withdrawn, all aid will be immediately ceased, and Zaibach will be left to feed itself."

There was a great murmuring at this pronouncement, and a sparse smatter of applause, which was joined by the Queen of Egzardia and the Emperor of Cesario, Zaibach's closest neighbors. Basram's president, Hitomi saw, was looking extremely sour.

"I bet he wanted a piece of Zaibach," Rhum whispered in her ear.

His dog-like breath and the fur around his muzzle ticked her ear, and Hitomi was forced to supress a giggle. A sudden outburst of laughter, she knew, would not go over well in the current conditions.

"Item three," Dryden continued, "The Empire of Zaibach, while guilty of unjust and unprovoked attacks on its neighbors and allies, has offered, through King Fanel, to share the secrets of science which they have kept to themselves since the late Emperor Dornkirk took the throne. Among these secrets are advanced medicinal techniques, the mechanics of guymelef flight, and new forms of energy unknown outside of Zaibach. In return, they ask that they not pay the traditional war reparations, as has long been tradition among all countries of Gaea. Upon discussion, the Alliance has agreed to this condition."

The sour smile on Basram's face became very fixed at this point, an expression which was mirrored by Deadalus and his attendants. Hitomi wasn't sure why they were so put-out with this information. After all, they were the countries which arguably suffered the least damage during the Destiny War. If anyone should be upset, it was Freid and Fanelia, but Chid looked as content as the day she first met him. Van stood stoically as usual, but Hitomi knew of his part in this decision, and that he was satisfied with it.

Dryden adjusted his glasses, then went on. "Item four: in one year, the Alliance shall meet to discuss the implementation of these resolutions, and invite Zaibach to take part in new negotiations if the current resolutions have proven unsatisfactory. So these motions are carried."

The murmurs began in earnest now, as nearly every person present eagerly turned to his or her neighbor to discuss the Alliance's decisions. Some of them even got to their feet and began filing towards the nearest exit.

Dryden, however, wasn't finished.

"If I could have your further attention, please!" he called, waving his hands above his head to catch everyone's attention.

A few people who had been in the process of leaving paused and looked back. Some of them tittered at the sight of the Prince Regent of Asturia waving his hands and calling the departing crowd back to order. The predominately female Egzardian delegation in particular broke out into a series of whispers with one another. Dryden winked at them.

"Good, thank you, sit down," he said, directing the stragglers with great waves of his arms.

"What's he doing?" whispered Merle, apparently forgetting that she wasn't talking to Hitomi.

"I don't know. But look," said Hitomi, "No one's left the stage."

She was correct. The leaders of the various nations of Gaea stood stock still, some of them stoic like Van, some beaming honestly like Chid, and some with very fixed, false smiles. As the audience took notice of their leaders' unmoving figures, they finally complied with Dryden's request and began moving back to their seats. With a charming grin on his face, Dryden took his place behind the podium again. Silence reigned.

"Thank you," he said. He took a moment before speaking to compose his features into an expression of gravity and reverence. Hitomi thought it looked strange for the normally playful Dryden to assume such an aspect, though she had to admit that he played the part well.

"Thank you for returning to your seats. As our last words to you this year, the Alliance would like to formally recognize those, without whom, we would not be standing here today. The ones who went above and beyond what any person could hope to offer in one life time, and the ones who performed the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of peace."

He paused, allowing for a short moment of silence. Hitomi bowed her head.

"To the soldiers who gave their lives, to the rulers who fought for their people, and to King Van Fanel and Lady Hitomi Kanzaki, for destroying the Atlantis Machine, and for saving us all."

Slowly, like a distant noise that creeps over the horizon and buries you in sound, everyone in the room began to applaud. All eyes were either on the balcony, where Hitomi stared disbelievingly back at them, or on Van, who stood casually as usual, but this time he was smiling. He didn't look at the audience, though. He only saw Hitomi.

Rhum prodded her in the back and said, "That's you, little lady. Stand up so they can see you!"

She obeyed, her face glowing like the setting sun. The applause deepened.

"To the Girl from the Mystic Moon!"

* * *

A/N: This chapter came as a surprise to me.

As always, thank you for reading.


	23. The Ball

Chapter 23 - The Ball

"Dryden! That wasn't fair!" Hitomi groaned.

With a booming, self-satisfied laugh, Dryden slapped her on the back and she almost fell over from the force of it.

"It's your due! Take it! You and Van both deserve to be recognized, not brushed into the hearth and forgotten because you're too busy being modest. I've never held with modesty, anyhow. Seems too much like lying."

"But we didn't- we just-" Hitomi stammered, but she couldn't think of a way to articulate just how embarrassed his announcement had made her feel.

It wasn't that he was incorrect. All across Gaea, the news of how the war was ended had finally spread. In the marketplaces of Asturia, the windswept moors of Daedalus, the vineyards of Cesario, the great universities of Egzardia, the deserts of Basram, the tropical temples of Freid, and even the green-lit streets of Zaibach, people whispered about Van Fanel and the Girl from the Mystic Moon. It was only a matter of time after she'd given her testimony that people would have begun speculating, filling in the gaps that she'd so carefully left private. Hitomi had been hoping that such talk would wait until after she'd left Gaea, so she wouldn't have to deal with so many strangers speculating about her romantic life. But Dryden and the Alliance's official recognition of their heroism - as a pair - was what blew the lid off of things, in a manner of speaking.

On her way to confront Dryden, people had actually stopped her in her tracks to ask when the wedding was. She could only reply to such inquiries, in a very shaky voice, that she was a little too young to be thinking about marriage.

"It's just- you didn't have to, Dryden," she stubbornly insisted.

Dryden laughed again, and put one heavy hand on her shoulder. "You're a hero, Hitomi! There's no need to hide from it. Besides, Van's dealing with it like a pro. You can't let him show you up."

Hitomi sighed. They were still in the conference hall, and Van stood nearby, waiting for her to be finished yelling at Dryden. He wasn't, however, alone. Women and men from every delegation were flocking around him, begging for a word or simply asking to take his hand for a moment. Van handled it all in his stride, speaking with people briefly enough so that everyone could have their questions answered, and grasping hands as they were offered. Some of the women, Hitomi noticed, held his hand for a little longer than necessary.

"They don't have to do that," she grumbled.

"He's a king, you know. If you're going to be with him, you've got to get used to that kind of thing."

A band tightened around Hitomi's heart.

"I guess I should."

"Hey," Dryden said, "Don't worry about it. Tonight, you'll be better looking than any of them. Except for Millerna, maybe."

"Oh, _thanks_."

"Alas, but I speak through the filter of love. Speaking of, I've got to go. I promised myself I'd ask Millerna to dance tonight, and I don't want to smell like I've been cavorting with unwashed monarchs all day. Don't worry," he said, noticing the troubled look on her face, "Van doesn't even see those girls. Trust me. And don't let a little jealousy get in the way of your fun tonight. Okay?"

She forced a smile. "Okay."

"Good. Just to warn you, I'm going to ask you to dance if I see you."

"Um... thanks..."

He chuckled to himself and walked away, and called over his shoulder, "It's no use hiding!"

In his own weird way, Hitomi knew, he was trying to cheer her up.

"Thanks, Dryden," she whispered.

"Hitomi?"

Van had stepped away from the people who'd been seeking his attention. Some of them looked as if they weren't ready to part with him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just Dryden being Dryden."

Van looked like he didn't believe her, but he let it go. "Come on. We need to catch up with Rhum and the others."

"Sure," she said, taking his hand. "Let's go."

The crowds parted around them as they went.

* * *

As the afternoon waned, airships of all kinds both departed from and arrived in Pallas. Some glided like swans through the rosy sky, some lumbered like colossi, ponderously floating to and fro until the sky was so thick with them the sun was obscured. The palace hangars were full by sunset, and even royal delegations were forced to land on the outskirts of the city, in empty fields or the back lots of farms.

Evening descended on Pallas like a lady in black satin dropping her skirts. The streets ended up being choked with passing coaches. It became so bad when the last rays of the sun disappeared over the mountains that people gave up arriving at the palace in style and simply got out and walked.

In her room, Hitomi tried and failed to fasten the clasp of the necklace she'd gotten from Celena. It was a beautiful thing; snug against her neck, made of alternating aquamarine crystals and turquoise stones. There were earrings and a bracelet to match, but Hitomi's ears weren't pierced, and the earrings weren't clip-ons. She sighed and tossed the necklace on the small vanity.

Already she could hear distant laughter and conversation from the royal ballroom, which was located just underneath her bedroom. Van was already there, she knew, as Rhum had reminded him earlier that he had a royal obligation to be among the first guests. Hitomi had chosen to wait a while. She'd needed a little time to herself after the excitement of the summit.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Hitomi called.

Millerna entered the room, carrying a flower that reminded Hitomi of a white poinsettia, but with soft petals instead of leaves.

"I'm here to be your lady-in-waiting," Millerna said, smiling. "I figured you might need a hand."

"Thanks," Hitomi gratefully replied. "I can't get this necklace on for the life of me."

She held up the lovely thing and proffered it at Millerna, who set her flower down on the vanity and took position behind Hitomi so she could fasten the delicate clasp of the necklace.

"You know, Hitomi," Millerna said as she was doing her work, "I never thanked you for what you said to me last night. I've been thinking about it. I'm going to talk to Allen tonight if I can corner him. There."

Millerna took Hitomi's shoulders and steered her towards the mirror. The necklace settled just above her collarbone. It twinkled with every tiny movement of her body.

"I'm sure Allen will be happy. Thanks, Millerna."

"Don't mention it," Millerna airily replied. "Oh, wait! I brought you something. Hold still."

With practiced movements, Millerna scooped up the flower she'd been carrying and fastened it in Hitomi's hair, so it sat to the right side of her head, just above her temple.

"There," Millerna pronounced, cocking her head and eying Hitomi with a professional air, "You look like a queen."

Hitomi lightly brushed the flower with the tips of her fingers. She let her hand fall to her side and it hung there, limp.

"A queen," she said.

The two girls set off through the palace in amicable quiet. The hallways were candlelit instead of torch-lit as they normally were, creating a twilit ambiance. A garland of red and blue flowers hung on each door they passed. All around her, Hitomi could hear distant laughter, or the clinking of glasses and strains of music.

"I talked to Dryden last night," Millerna said.

"Huh?"

"I ran into him on the way to my room. I was a little hysterical," she said, with a small laugh. "But he dropped what he was doing and he listened to me when I really needed it. He didn't try anything either."

Hitomi laughed, and said, "Good!"

"I think I could really start to like him. But he's going away. He says he's still got a long way to go before becoming someone I deserve. I said I wouldn't wait for him if he left, but he said he'd wait for me anyway. You know how he is," she sighed.

"I think he'd wait for you if ten Allen Schezars were competing for your affections," Hitomi teased.

"I think he would," Millerna seriously replied, "I trust him. Like Van trusts you."

"Millerna..."

"It isn't so bad being left behind. It gives you time to work hard and become someone they deserve while they're working hard for you. Don't you think so, Hitomi?"

A heavy feeling in her heart that she didn't even know she had eased a little. Millerna was right. As long as she and Van held each other in their hearts, it wasn't exactly like being apart, was it? They'd be working hard for each other, not just for themselves. Wasn't that worth waiting for?

"If you wish for it hard enough, it'll come true," Hitomi whispered.

Millerna squeezed her hand, and Hitomi could swear that her eyes twinkled like Dryden's. "That's exactly right."

"Now announcing Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Millerna Sara Aston of Asturia and Lady Hitomi Kanzaki of the Mystic Moon," a voice from the ballroom boomed.

The doors opened, and they stepped into golden twilight.

* * *

Nothing was quite like an Asturian ball.

The country of merchants was sometimes snidely referred to as others as the magpie nation, because Asturia, much like the bird, tended to steal things it decided were interesting or desirable. Their wine and music hailed from Cesario, their buildings were reminiscent of those on the Egzardian coast, their canals were blatantly stolen from Basram's irrigation system, Daedalus often took credit for their national council, and much of their food was a wild mish-mash of cuisine from the spicy dishes of Freid to the hearty, savory concoctions from Fanelia with the addition of fish, fish, and more fish. It wasn't entirely true, of course. Asturia had its own folklore, its own fluid values, its own strange system of commerce and collection of oaths. But since the whole of Gaea passed through the ports of Pallas every day, Asturia as a whole couldn't help but be affected and change through osmosis.

Consequently, their balls always had the best of everything in the world.

Wine from everywhere flowed like water, the best musicians cultivated at the conservatories of Egzardia played on a lavishly carpeted stage, the dance floor was polished until it gleamed, and long-burning candles, products of Fanelia, bathed the huge room in a deep orange glow that cast everything in a more flattering light. Light snacks were available from passing servants, also dressed to the nines, and everywhere conversation and dance came naturally as the nearby ocean waves. Great windows opened on all sides to let in the cool night air, and ice sculptures in the shapes of horses, sea dragons, and great birds added beauty and a touch of cold to the vast, hot, and crowded room.

From where Van was standing, it was a little too ostentatious for his taste. He sipped the thick, bitter beer imported from Irini village and wished that he could be back home. He'd had enough of Pallas. The stifling heat of the day wore down on him, and the political guessing games wore his patience thin. He wanted to get back home and feel the coolness of the valley winds on his neck, to work with his hands in rebuilding Fanelia, to show Hitomi his home and introduce her to his people.

"Still waiting?" a low, smooth voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Allen," Van said, turning around. "I thought you were on guard duty."

Allen gave a wry smile, pointed a few yards away, where Van spotted Eries speaking with Dryden and a small group of dignitaries. "I'm not on duty tonight. I'm here as an escort."

"An escort?"

"My sister wouldn't hear of staying home," he said with a sigh. "No matter how I tried to dissuade her. She conceded in the end to bringing Sati along, but I feel that Celena will pay for all this excitement in the long run."

Van privately thought that Allen wasn't going to have much luck keeping Celena from doing anything she decided she wanted. He took another sip of beer to still his tongue, and shut his eyes for a moment to enjoy the tingle of the alcohol as it slid down his throat. When he opened them, he noticed something missing.

"If you're supposed to be escorting her, where is she?"

"Ah. She and Sati are otherwise occupied."

"'Otherwise occupied?'" Van said, blinking, "With what?"

"Feminine matters," Allen said with a stern glance at Van.

Van frowned and repressed the urge to glare, caught somewhere between annoyance and embarrassment.

"She mentioned that she'd like to try dancing tonight," Allen continued.

"Hm."

"That she'd like to dance with someone her own age," Allen said, his voice becoming more pronounced.

Ignoring him, Van took another draught of beer.

"Someone," he said emphatically, "That she knows."

The warning bells that had failed to go off in Van's head suddenly came on full blast and he nearly choked on his beer. He turned to Allen, incredulous.

"No."

Allen looked grim. "I'm afraid she insists."

"Van!" a cheery voice piped up from behind him. "Hi!"

Slowly, and with a growing sense of dread, he turned around and saw Celena standing there, accompanied by a brown-skinned woman in white who he assumed was Sati. Celena was brightly attired in the most lurid pink dress. Her white gloves did little to de-emphasize the impression that she was really a cleverly-disguised flamingo, here for the prawns. The cut suited her, he had to admit, but he thought he'd never see anything pinker than Merle's hair.

"Celena," he said, bowing his head in greeting.

"I'm having a really good time," she confided. "Even if brother thinks I should have stayed home. Oh, this is Sati. Sati, this is Van."

"So you're Van," Sati said, with a kind smile.

She had a low, soothing voice, laden with the unique ability to transmit volumes of meaning in as few words as necessary. It made Van deeply uncomfortable to understand exactly what she meant. _That_ Van. The King of Fanelia. The pilot of Escaflowne. The person Celena almost murdered the first time she saw him, in the kitchen of her home. Dilandau's obsession.

He wasn't sure how to take that, so he merely bowed his head to her and began to look for a quick route of escape.

Strains of music began to lilt through the air. It had a familiar rhythm. One, two, three, one two three. Celena's face lit up like a candle.

"Oh!" she said, clapping her hands together. "A waltz! Van, come dance with me. I haven't danced yet and I know Hitomi won't mind. Come on."

Without waiting for a reply, she took his free hand and looked expectantly at him. If he shook off her hand and ran away, her feelings were likely to be hurt, and Allen would be upset. Even given those risks, he would have run away if not for one thing. That woman Sati and her volumes of meaning. He couldn't very well prove to her that he was every bit as bad as Dilandau- no, _Celena,_ remembered.

"All right," he said, handing his beer off to Allen.

"Excellent, Van. You'd make a fine knight, yet."

Van glowered, the smile on Celena's face grew even brighter, and, turning his back an Allen's satisfied smirk, he led her off to the dance floor.

"You do know how to dance, don't you?" he asked.

She nodded, flushing a little, and tried to put her hand on his waist.

"No. That's where I put my hand. Your hand goes here," he said, redirecting her left hand to his back and taking her right hand in his own. "Are you sure you know how to do this?"

"Of course I do!" she said, too quickly. "I've had lessons since I was eight."

_And you disappeared when you were five,_ Van thought.

"Just remember to let me lead."

Celena nodded, her face as pink as her dress, and they took their first steps.

She wasn't a bad dancer at all, Van had to admit. She knew where to step and how to follow through on the twirls and dips he threw in on occasion to test her. However, there were some snags. Once, she tried to twirl him, which resulted in him almost tripping over her outstretched arm and careening into one of the musicians. She'd apologized for it, but it still didn't prevent her from trying to take the lead whenever he was off his guard.

"Stop that," he finally snapped, when she attempted to lead again and ended up stepping on his foot.

"Sorry. I'm trying. It's hard when all you remember is leading."

Van was silent for a moment, then said, "Do you remember much? From that time in your life."

"Sure," she said. "Better than I remember my real childhood."

"But you're not trying to kill me."

She laughed. "No. I probably won't do it again. I'm really sorry, you know. For that one time in the kitchen. Everything was still so new, and you being there surprised me so much that I- that he just... reacted. Anyway. It's why I asked you to dance. I didn't want to have to do that in front of my brother."

Van shook his head, and dipped her, which made her laugh again. When she was righted again, he said, "I hated Dilandau. He was the source of all evil in the world to me. I wanted to kill him more than anything. No, I wanted to destroy him. Wipe him out for what he did to my homeland. To me. When you took your sword to my throat, I wanted to kill you, too."

Their dance brought them within talking distance of Sati and Allen. Celena waved and smiled until they were out of sight, and then looked up at Van, a frown line furrowed between her eyebrows.

"Why are you-"

"Because you're not Dilandau. Not anymore."

The orchestra came to a flourishing halt. Every couple on the floor stopped to applaud. Van dropped Celena's hands while she joined in. It didn't escape his attention that behind her smile and polite appreciation of the music, she was surprised at his blunt speech. Then again, he mused, she didn't know him half as well as Dilandau had.

"It's true," she said, sounding surprised. "I'm not. Thank you."

Van inclined his head. The dancers began to break up, so he politely took her hand and led her off the dance floor, back to her brother's and Sati's company. Upon their arrival, she was all smiles. Without a word, Van took his beer back from Allen and took a deep draught.

"I trust he treated you well," Allen teased, one eyebrow arching elegantly.

Celena giggled. "Better than I expected."

The voice of the reader of lists echoed across the dance floor, announcing the name of the person for whom Van had been waiting all night. Then, the beer was back in Allen's possession, and Van was gone.

* * *

Hitomi tucked her hair behind her ears and hoped that her flower was on straight.

"Do I look ok?" she whispered to Millerna.

Millerna laughed and assured her friend that she looked quite all right.

"Good enough to turn everyone's heads," she said.

Hitomi smiled uncomfortably and smoothed her dress. Looking around her, she saw that she didn't stick out quite as much as she thought she would. People from all over Gaea were gathered here for the final celebration that the war was over, and with them, they brought their wildly varying states of formal dress. The men of Daedalus stood out in black velvet affairs trimmed with gold thread and topped off by ridiculous, bell-shaped hats which they seemed to think were the height of fashion. Cesarians wore outfits that reminded Hitomi of old marble statues that she'd seen in books, all flowing folds of white linen and leafy headdresses that seemed woven into place. The Egzardian women all wore colors bright enough to put Parrots to shame, while the crisp uniforms of the Basramians were done up in tasteful neutrals. There were very few Freidians present, but it seemed that their clothing remained monkish no matter what the occasion. She could just see little Chid in his usual outfit slowly making his way towards Allen and Celena.

It was a pity, she thought, that there weren't any Fanelian women to be seen.

"This is where I leave you," Millerna said, giving Hitomi's hand a squeeze.

Hitomi was alarmed. "What? Now? But I don't know anyone here!"

"I've got to find my sister before she spots me and disappears. Sorry!"

"Millerna!"

"You'll be fine! I'll see you later, okay?"

"But! Millerna!"

Millerna gave Hitomi one last smile, and then disappeared into the crowd, leaving her quite alone. She stared around her, feeling extremely unsure of herself. The fact that several people were looking at her surreptitiously and whispering only increased her anxiety. What were they talking about? Did they recognize her? What would she say if one of them came up and asked her to dance? She wished Millerna would have stayed with her.

As if on cue, there was a tap on her shoulder. She screwed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

_I'm going to turn around,_ she thought. _I'm going to turn around and that drunk guy from the other night will be standing there, and he's going to ask me to dance._

"Are you going to talk to me or what? I don't have all night."

"Merle!" she exclaimed, and spun around.

Behind her stood Merle in a bright yellow dress. To Hitomi, she'd never looked sweeter.

"Took you long enough to get here," Merle snorted. "I've been waiting by the door for like, hours."

"Sorry," Hitomi said, smiling brightly. "I was nervous."

"You think I wasn't? I'm the only cat here. Being from the Mystic Moon is nothing compared to that."

The familiar sense of annoyance Hitomi often felt in the presence of Merle began to creep in. It was strangely welcome.

"I'm glad you're talking to me again."

"Yeah, well," Merle grumbled. "I wanted to catch you before Van-Sama did. I have to ask you something."

Hitomi swallowed. "Y- yes?"

"Did you and Van-Sama- did you and- did you have-"

"No," said Hitomi, quickly, her cheeks red as fire. "No. We're not ready yet. Besides, I don't think he _would_. I mean, if he wanted to."

"Okay. That's fine. When I saw you two I- well, I didn't understand. I'm sorry."

The image of Yukari walking in on her and Amano that fateful day flickered through Hitomi's mind. "That's okay. I probably would have freaked, too."

"It doesn't mean I was wrong, though," Merle added. "If anyone else had caught you like that, people here wouldn't be talking about what a hero you were."

Though implied, her meaning was perfectly clear. Hitomi looked at the ground, unable to meet Merle's eyes. She was a little angry that thirteen-year-old Merle was telling her to be careful or people would think she was a slut, but she had grown enough to realize that even though her words were unfair, they were also true. As to what the slew of visiting royals would think of Van after coming to the wrong conclusion, she didn't want to think about, though she had the rather accurate idea that it would be far worse for her than for him. She, at least, could escape it. They'd been careless. It had been easy.

"We'll be more careful," she finally muttered.

Merle crossed her arms and stared around the room, her tail flicking back and forth in agitation. "Well, I'm going to be looking out for you either way. You're both worse than dragons in heat."

Hitomi had no idea what a dragon in heat was like, but she was sure the comparison wasn't favorable. Instead of arguing about it, she just gave an exasperated smile and looked to the crowd.

And saw Van.

He wore a simple black shirt done in the Fanelian style, with the lace-up neck, but with long sleeves cuffed in gold thread. The green cloth draped over one shoulder and belted at his waist reminded Hitomi of photos she'd seen of men in traditional Scottish clothing. Thinking it over briefly, she remembered she'd seen that same style of clothing on Rhum and his men. She supposed it was some kind of Fanelian formal wear. Or was it the way high-ranking members of Rhum's clan dressed? It didn't matter. It looked good on him. Very good.

His sword slapped rhythmically against his thigh as he drew closer.

"Van," she breathed, unable to say anything else.

"Van-Sama!" Merle chirped, running to his side and taking hugging his arm in greeting.

"Merle. You're talking to me again?"

"As if I could do that to you! I wasn't talking to _Hitomi_."

"I see. Hello, Hitomi," he said, his voice cracking a little on the last syllable.

Maybe it was the tension. Maybe it was the fervor of her beating heart. Maybe it was that she was unused to seeing him in anything other than his red shirt. But unable to help herself, she laughed, and much to her surprise, he smiled back at her, completely unoffended.

"What's so funny?" Merle said with a glare.

"Nothing!" she insisted, still giggling a little. She looked at Van. He met her gaze with his warm brown eyes, steady, nervous, smiling. She could feel the heat in her cheeks rising alongside the fluttering in her belly.

"You're so weird. Hey, Van, will you dance with me later?"

Gently, Van detached his arm from her grasp. "Sure."

Merle grinned and rocked back on her heels. It was nice, Hitomi thought, to see Merle acting carefree again, even if she was being annoying. The catgirl seemed to sense that thought, and made a face at Hitomi over her shoulder.

"I didn't know you danced, Van," said Hitomi, ignoring her.

Van blinked, surprised. "Shouldn't I?"

"It's just that... um, on the Mystic Moon, most guys your age don't like dancing," she explained.

"What kind of place _is_ the Mystic Moon?" Merle wondered, dumbfounded. "Do your King and Queen just stare at other royalty when they come visit?"

"We don't- oh, never mind."

Merle put her hands on her hips and sighed. "I will never understand that place."

"Hitomi," Van said, holding his hand out to her. "Will you dance with me?"

A sudden bolt of ice shot through her heart. Nervously clearing her throat, she said, "Um... I don't know how."

"Don't worry," he said, hand still proffered. "It's easy. You just follow my lead."

"You don't understand," she said, seriously, "I've never danced before. During Yukari's birthday last year, when she had that big party at her house, I tried to dance and knocked over her mom's favorite lamp. I really, really can't do it."

Van grinned and took her hand. "Then let me teach you."

Against that argument, she had no defense.

"Don't step on his feet!" Merle yelled after them.

This attracted a few stares, namely from a few of the Daedalun men, one of which was actually wearing a monocle. He whispered to his companion and smirked. Hitomi went hot with embarrassment.

"I could kill her sometimes," she seethed.

"Don't worry. No one'll notice your dancing. You're..." he looked away, and sounded for a moment like he was going to choke on something. After a short struggle, he finally managed to say, "You're too beautiful."

Another hysterical urge to giggle rose in her throat. "No I'm not. I'm just a normal girl."

He guided her hands to his shoulder and back, and put his on her waist. "I've always thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen."

This time, the tremble in his voice was gone.

"Even when I slapped you?"

He smiled. "Even then."

The music started. She prayed that she wouldn't make too much of a fool of herself.

Every couple in the room moved in unison. It was amazing to watch. Or it would have been, Hitomi thought, if she didn't have to concentrate so hard on where Van would place his feet next. Sometimes, people would break off from their partners, link hands, and form circles. Hitomi wished she knew what cues they were listening for, because she was completely lost. Once or twice, she actually collided with someone mid-step. Despite her blunders, though, she felt it was worth it in the end. The exhilaration of completing a correct move made her heart beat with excitement, and the feel of Van's hands around her waist, or of her hand in his as they moved about the floor made her it beat even faster. By the time they'd completed their first dance, she realized that dancing, like running, was all about putting one foot in front of the other. By the time their second dance was over, she didn't want the night to end.

* * *

Eries looked on the dancers with half-lidded eyes. Her conversation with the Duke of the Western March was, frankly, excessively boring, and she was already feeling the effects of her _vino._ It was far more interesting to watch happy people dance than it was to listen to one more word about the benefits of proper fertilization in the winter months.

It was especially interesting to watch Hitomi and Van. They were radiant together; in her eyes, a perfect example of young love fulfilled, which she always pleasured in seeing. Hitomi was always laughing and delighting in the steps of the dance, even when she made a mistake, and Van, unusually, never seemed to stop smiling. The gossip of the ball confirmed the favorability of the match. Already, people were calling the Girl from the Mystic Moon the future Queen of Fanelia. Her status as a hero revoked the normal requirements of royalty to marry royalty, and even the most stringent of traditionalists could see the romance in it all. Eries, sipping her vino and pretending to pay attention to the Duke, thought that they were almost certainly doomed.

Unbidden, Hitomi's words to her the previous night returned to her.

_I know she's your sister, but that isn't really your place. You don't even know what she's thinking. Have you even asked?_

"Forward little minx," she muttered.

"I'm sorry?" said the Duke.

"Nothing of interest, sir," Eries said with a practiced smile. "Though I do seem to have come over with a sudden headache. These parties can be tiring."

The Duke wrung his gloves in concern. "Shall I get you anything, milady? Water, perhaps?"

"Thank you, sir, you are most kind."

With a bow, the Duke quickly departed, his cape flapping eagerly behind him. She watched him disappear, and thought his attempts to gain her favor amusingly pathetic.

What she saw when he was gone from view nearly made her drop her glass.

"Chid? That's a cute name. Where did you say you were from?"

Celena was crouched down on the floor, at eye level with her nephew, Chid zar Freid. His advisors or bodyguards, tall, muscular men in monk's clothing were clustered about them, observing, and a few bystanders had even stopped to witness this spectacle. Sati stood with her head bowed, and Allen, as white as Sati's dress, looked as if he were about to faint.

Chid smiled. "Freid. You're Allen's sister, correct? It's an honor to meet you."

Celena's bubbly laugh rang out. "You too! You're so cute! You don't even look like you're from Freid."

"Celena," Allen said warningly, but Chid only smiled.

"I'm told that I favor my mother in looks."

"It's true," Eries said, hastily making her way over before Celena said anything else. "He's the very image of his _mother,_ my elder sister Marlene. Hello, Chid."

"Aunt Eries, hello," he said, politely. It was the first time they'd met since his mother passed away, and wasn't likely that he remembered her very well. She smiled at him, but made no further attempts at conversation. She'd never known how to speak to around children.

Celena looked from Eries to Chid and seemed to be thinking about something. Suddenly, it looked like a light went off over her head, and she said, "Hey, Allen, didn't you-"

But whatever Celena was about to say was cut off by Millerna's sudden appearance. Eries had never been happier to see her younger sister.

"Allen! Eries! I was hoping I'd find you together. Hello, Celena! My, you look wonderful in that dress. And is that Chid I see?"

"Aunt Millerna!" he said, smiling happily up at her.

She knelt down and scooped him up in a hug so enthusiastic that his advisors/bodyguards shifted uncomfortably. During that moment of distraction, Allen pulled his sister to her feet and whispered something in her ear.

"I didn't expect to see you here! Isn't it past your bedtime?"

Chid laughed. "You know state officials have to attend functions like this. I am tired though, to tell you the truth. I just wanted to see Allen before I went to bed tonight."

"I'm glad of it," Allen said, bowing his head. "You look well."

At his side, Celena was biting her lip.

_Oh, Jichia, _Eries thought. _Please tell me he wasn't stupid enough to tell her right there!_

"Kaja's been a big help. He's been at my side ever since my father died."

Eries was amazed that he could say such a thing with no tremble in his voice, no tears. He simply stood there and spoke of the subject as if he were describing the shape of a particular cloud, or what he ate for breakfast that day. It simply was.

"Did you leave him in Fortuna?"

"Unfortunately, I had to. I wouldn't trust anyone else to keep an eye on things while I was away."

"Give him my regards when you return."

"Certainly. Allen. Do you think you and your sister would be willing to visit me in Freid, after we're finished rebuilding? And Aunt Millerna and Aunt Eries?" he added, Eries shrewdly guessed, as an afterthought.

"As soon as my duties permit it, I would he happy to accept. However, given the current state of things..." he said, his voice trailing off.

"I understand. There's no rush," Chid hastily added. "It'll take a while to rebuild. But do you think you could? Someday soon?"

For the first time that night, Chid sounded like a child. A child begging for something he wanted very much, only this time, it wasn't a pony or a piece of candy. It was a person. And against that, Eries knew, Allen had no will to refuse.

He bowed. "As soon as we are able."

"Of course we will!" Millerna put in. "So you'd better not forget to make room for us."

Chid's smile was sincere. "I'm happy. Thank you."

One of the large monks at Chid's side bent over and whispered into his Duke's ear. When he straightened up, Chid continued.

"I'm sorry, but I have to excuse myself. Iaka has reminded me that it's late, and that we have to leave early tomorrow morning. Will I see you before I leave, Allen?"

Allen seemed to undergo a fierce internal struggle before bowing once again and saying that he would try.

"Good. Goodnight, everyone. It was nice to meet you, Celena."

He placed his hands together, palms inward, and bowed to them, followed by his bodyguards. Each of them returned the gesture in their own way, and in a moment, Chid was making his way through the crowd, on his way to bed. Allen looked as if he'd just swallowed poison.

"Allen," Eries said, softly. "Would you check on the Duke of the Western March for me? I sent him after water and I haven't seen him since. He seemed as if he'd drunk too much, so he may need help back to his coach."

"What? Oh. Yes," he said, absently. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Without even a bow, Allen pushed off into the crowd, like a man with a cold wind on his soul.

Millerna looked at her sister, and then at Celena. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she said, slowly. "what just happened?"

Inwardly, Eries breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nothing we can talk about here," she whispered, drawing close. "Would you be willing to wait?"

"She doesn't have to wait," Millerna said.

Eries drew back, surprised. "Excuse me?"

"I said she doesn't have to wait. And neither do I. Eries," she said, taking her sister's hand, adding to the latter's list of things to be taken aback by, "I wanted to talk to you and Allen."

"What about?"

"Last night," she said, sounding a little guilty. "And about... about Marlene."

Eries' hands involuntarily contracted, and she stared at Millerna's eyes, so like her elder sister's. Not at all like Chid's.

"Marlene?" said Celena. "Isn't that-?"

"Celena," said Sati, her voice gentle, yet stern. "Sometimes, it serves one more to listen than to constantly ask impertinent questions."

"They're not impertinent!" Celena said, indignant.

"I want Celena to be there, too," Millerna said, and Celena stopped looking put upon and began to look intrigued.

After a moment's pause, Eries said, "I will talk to you. But I can't answer for Celena. It's not my place, not without Allen's consent."

"After he comes back, then."

Reluctantly, Eries nodded, and Millerna's face broke into a smile.

"I don't know about you two," Celena cut in, "But I'm going to go find him. I'm not going to sit around all night and wait for him to come back and miss out on whatever you're planning to tell me."

"Celena!" Sati called, but in vain. Celena was already determinedly marching off in the direction Allen had gone in search of the Duke.

"Excuse me," she said, bowing to the princesses, and hurried off after her charge.

Millerna had not yet let go of her sister's hand. She hadn't done that since they were very small, and Eries was leading her through the more difficult paths in the royal gardens in search of wild strawberries. Millerna had gotten so sticky that they'd had to bathe in the little pond outside of Marlene's villa, lest they get in trouble with their governess. Allen had laughed at them, calling them troublesome little girls, and Marlene had brought them a change of clothes. Little Millerna was so offended at being called a little girl that she'd thrown Eries' hand away and proclaimed that she was a grown up lady, he'd see. And Marlene had laughed.

"After they leave," Millerna said, quietly. "I want to talk about Allen. And you. If you're willing."

Eries squeezed her hand.

"I'll try," she said.

* * *

The night deepened, and the ball only got larger, more celebratory. After dancing countless times with Van, a few unnamed noblemen, and even once with Dryden, decked out in outlandish red and blue, Hitomi had been led outside under protest, where Van insisted she get a breath of fresh air. He'd taken her to the top of a secluded tower, one which he often used himself when he wanted to be alone for practice or for contemplation. _Brooding_, she thought with an inward giggle. The night breeze was refreshing, she had to admit, and the seclusion was a relief after being surrounded on all sides by revelers for the better part of the evening.

"It's beautiful up here," she said. "I can see all the lights in the city. Is that why you come here?"

"No. I come here because no one ever looks here when they're trying to find me."

"Hm. It's still pretty."

"Yeah. It is."

They stood in silence for a while, neither needing to speak. It was nice, Hitomi thought. She'd always struggled for things to say around Amano or Allen, but with Van all they had to do was be together in order to be comfortable. Once again she asked herself what she'd been thinking when she thought she was serious about them. Then again, she thought, it wasn't exactly as if Van had been very good at spelling out his feelings back then. They'd both changed a lot, she reflected. Leaning on his shoulder, she thought it was definitely for the better.

"Rhum was telling me that they'd found an extra iyakla. To carry Folken," Van said.

"Are you going to ride with him?"

"Yes. I think he'd have liked that it was me and Rhum taking him home and not some anonymous airship pilot."

She smiled and took Van's hand. "You've forgiven him, haven't you?"

Van didn't answer. Instead, he shrugged, and pulled away from her.

"Van," she said softly.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive what he did to Fanelia. I know he did it under orders. But Folken... He used to say that war had no point. Then he ended up taking up arms and fighting for a world without it. It's hypocritical."

Hitomi put her head on his shoulder. Van responded, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

His voice was low in her ears. "Maybe one day we can see that world."

"If you keep wishing for it, it'll come true," Hitomi said ardently, pulling away to look at him.

"What about your wishes, Hitomi?" he asked.

She bit her lip and ran one hand through her hair. It was getting out of place in the night breeze. If they wanted to go back before the whole ball was over, she didn't want to look as if she'd been... well, making out or anything.

"My wishes..." she said, staring off into the night sky, where the Earth and moon danced together under a veil of stars.

He slipped his hand into hers. "Yes. What are your wishes?"

"I wish... I don't know what I wish," she said. "Let's go back inside before the music's over. I want to dance again."

"Hitomi," he whispered, his voice hoarse.

"I... oh, Van."

She buried her face in the crook of his neck and he wrapped his arms about her, holding her as if she'd disappear if he ever let go. It was almost too much. She wished she could lie and say what he wanted to hear. But it was Van. She owed him more than that.

It was time to tell him the truth.

"Van, I- wait, what's that?"

A guymelef shot across the sky, glowing bright red from overheat. This was what had caught Hitomi's eye. It slowed and swooped up and over the palace as they both gawked. Then, almost gracefully, like a giant tree tipping and then crashing to the ground, it began to fall towards them.

And on the horizon, a flying fortress followed behind it.

* * *

Um. Sorry that took so long. This was sort of a long chapter, haha. It was hard to work everything I wanted in, but I hope I managed it. I'm crossing my fingers that I can manage to finish this before 2009, so the end is in sight! THANK YOU for reading this! It makes me amazingly happy that there are people out there who care about this story.

Did the hits on anyone else's stories disappear when ff dot net did the update? I want mine back. :(


	24. Strength

Chapter 24 - Strength

"Hitomi!"

With a sound like a sonic boom, the red-hot guymelef crash-landed just outside of the tower and showered dirt and debris across half the palace. Van shielded Hitomi with his body, so she escaped unscathed. He ended up covered from head to foot in brown dirt.

"What's going on?" she cried, anxiously clutching at the place where her pendant would normally have hung. For a moment, she thought that she had lost it again and began to feel alarmed, but then remembered that she'd left it on her dresser in favor of the ornate necklace around her neck.

"I don't know," he said, "But we're not staying here. It won't be long until that flying fortress catches p."

"Wait!"

Movement on the ground caught Hitomi's eye. The guymelef, though damaged, was not disabled. Two crima claws extended, thickened, solidified ,and the pilot - whoever he or she was - began to move his machine.

Hitomi had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly who was inside.

"Van, hurry! We have to find Allen and the others!"

He took her hand in his without a word and pulled her indoors. They could hear screams from inside the palace as they raced down the circular staircase. The tower shook once, twice, three times as the guymelef outside used it as a support to right itself.

At hallway that led to the entrance to the ballroom, Van stopped and took Hitomi by both shoulders. She stared up at him, knowing what he was going to say next and hating it.

"I'm going to get Escaflowne. Go to the ballroom and tell Allen and the others what we saw."

"Okay," she said nodding. But she was unable to disguise the worry that flooded her face.

"I'll come back," he said, and quickly kissed her. His hands lingered on her cheeks for a moment before they fell away, and he ran towards the melef hangars.

She ran her hand over her forehead in an attempt to smooth out the lines she felt there. It would have been nice to take time out to worry, to pray for him as she had done when he was fighting in the last days of the Destiny War, but he was right. There wasn't time to wait. Besides, she wasn't going to let him fight alone.

Another great shudder went through the building, and she ran the rest of the way to the ballroom, not even heeding it when one of her shoes flew off and skidded to the wall with a thud. By the time she got there, the doors were already ajar, and people had begun to stream out of the room in thick columns. Hitomi had to fight her way through a river of terrified aristocrats to even get close to entering the room. Just as she passed the threshold, an arm shot out and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her through the torrent of people.

Merle's terrified face came into view. "Hitomi!? Where's Van-Sama?"

"He went to get Escaflowne. Please, I need to find Allen and the others. He's alone out there!"

"He's with Eries and Millerna. Hurry up! Come on!"

Instantly, Merle tugged Hitomi's arm and dove straight though the crowd. Hitomi didn't know how she did it, but Merle seemed to have an instinct for exactly when a gap was about to form, and always dove unhesitatingly into seemingly solid throngs just before an opening appeared.

"Please! Silence! Can I have silence please!" a wizened old minister ineffectively wheezed somewhere nearby.

Hitomi ducked under the joined hands of a couple from Daedalus.

Dryden's voice cut through the noise like a sharp sword through a blade of grass. "Stop!"

Even Merle faltered a little as most of the people around her suddenly came to a halt. Dryden stood atop a buffet table, its contents still steaming around him, giving him the appearance of the exotic centerpiece in some lavish feast. His arms were raised above his head, and the bright blue and red of his garments made him stand out like a snowball in a firestorm. Hitomi couldn't notice much more about him with Merle tugging her urgently towards Allen, but she thought that he was acting very strange. Commanding, almost regal.

Then, he opened his mouth.

"Good," He yelled, lowering his arms. "If you'd stop running around like headless birds you might notice that the Defense Minister has something to say. You there! Stop pushing people over; you have more than enough time to save your own skin without stepping on the backs of others."

It was masterfully done. Dryden hadn't implicated anyone in particular, but everyone who had been desperately trying to evacuate the ballroom to an idea of safety held still and felt inexplicably guilty.

"If you will, minister," he said, hoisting the old man up beside him.

The minster wobbled on his feet and had to clutch at his own hat to keep it from falling onto the floor.

"Thank you, young man," he panted. Then, he began speaking with voice that reminded Hitomi of wind blowing through cattails.

"The celebration of the ratification of the Gaean Recovery and Peace Treaties has been duly protected in case of an emergency such as this. The Royal Guard has long been equipped with..."

One last push, and Merle pulled Hitomi to the alcove in which Allen, Millerna, Eries, Celena, and Sati stood. Millerna and Eries were holding hands, and Sati clutched Celena's shoulder as the girl stood pink faced, raptly listening to the description of the palace's defenses. Hitomi thought it was strange that Allen was as ashen-faced as the rest, accustomed as he was to battle. She would have to ask him what was wrong another time.

"Here they are!" Merle growled, shoving Hitomi towards Allen. "Tell them!"

"Hitomi?" Allen murmured, seeming to snap out of a reverie. "You're panting. Are you ill?"

"Allen, you have to help Van! He went out on Escaflowne to stop that person from attacking the castle. He's out there alone!"

"That person?" Millerna whispered. "What do you mean?"

"There's a Zaibach guymelef outside! If you don't hurry, Van might-!"

Finally understanding, Allen nodded. "I'll do everything in my power to help him. Until then."

He punctuated his farewell with a bow, and started the slow crawl through the crowd. After one too many "pardon me's," and "oh, not at all's," Merle lost patience.

"You're so slow!" she said with a hiss. "You'll never get through that way. Here, follow me."

Just as she had done for Hitomi, Merle gripped his wrist and led him through the unnavigable mass of people. They were out of sight in less than five seconds.

"Is it another war?" Celena said, her voice small, like a kitten's.

"Celena, don't," Sati soothed.

"No. Just a lost man."

* * *

The lights in the melef hangar had long been extinguished, but already servants were hurrying to and fro trying to get the main torches lit again. Van ignored them. He'd traversed this same path so many times that he could find it very well in the dark, even given the recent addition of the ships, melefs, and caravans parked there for the ball. Escaflowne would be in its usual place, near the entrance to the hangars, a position not thought too ostentatious by the Asturians, proud to show off their hospitality to a scrutinizing world. Van could only silently chastise them for their vanity while openly approving of the location for his own purposes.

There it was, in the most easily accessible route out of the hangar. Dodging a servant, Van climbed up Escaflowne's bent knee to the energist and placed his palm on the beautiful crystal. It outsteamed and opened for him, beckoning him inside. He didn't wait.

"Good, Escaflowne," Van muttered as he brought the war machine to its feet.

He tugged something inside the great thing and it launched forward, out the door of the hangar and then, into the sky. With the wind on his face again, he felt exhilarated. It hadn't nearly been a fortnight since he'd last used Escaflowne, but a part of him had missed it desperately. Here was his chance to protect her again. This time, without jealousy.

There was the Zaibach guymelef, using its remaining claws to pull itself up the tower like a flightless monster pursuing its prey.

Van tugged a cord, and Escaflowne's sword popped out of its compartment and landed in the claws of the dragon.

The blade struck true. Or, it would have, if the pilot hadn't jerked the arm of his guymelef out of the way. Instead, Escaflowne's sword dug a deep gouge in the side of the tower, and the pilot lost his grip and fell several meters back to the ground.

Inside the ballroom, several people screamed as the building shook hard enough to knock dust from the ceiling.

"Van Fanel!" a voice boomed.

"Paruchi!" Van growled in contempt. He transformed Escaflowne back to walking form and stood to face Hitomi's kidnapper, the Ispano's tormentor, and the representation of everything that had gone wrong in Zaibach.

"GET OUT!"

"I am not inclined to agree. The atmosphere, I think, will do my humors very well indeed. Not to mention the other attractions this city holds," he purred. There was a manic edge to his voice, Van noticed. All of the smoothness that had previously defined Paruchi's attitude was still there, but it was underlined not by confidence, but by conviction. And that, Van knew, was far worse.

"This is your only warning. Leave now or I will make sure you never hurt anyone again."

"Please, child. I'm not here to 'hurt' people, as you so astutely put it. I'm here for what's mine. You _and_ the girl."

"She's not anyone's to take!"

"For the good of the world, yes she is. She holds the key to Atlantean technology around her neck. Why do you think I let you come for her, when I noticed the necklace wasn't where it should be? You brought it back to her, fool, just as I'd intended."

Van was nearly certain he was bluffing, but he couldn't let the taunt pass unheeded. "Let me!? We escaped from an entire platoon of your best guards. You weren't 'letting' us do anything!"

"I admit that the Ispano was an oversight," he growled, his voice losing its calm assurance. "But he is no longer here, and my allies are close on my heels. If you do not both surrender to me immediately, we will burn this city as Fanelia was burned. Until it's ash isn't fit for rats to piss on."

Van didn't hesitate, didn't give warning. He simply lunged for Paruchi's neck.

The Sorcerer tried to dodge, but either his guymelef was too badly damaged to react immediately, or his reflexes weren't fast enough. Van's blade sliced through one of the arms, and it sublimated in a blaze of blue fire. Paruchi grunted and readied his other arm. Van readied himself to block the blow of a crima claw.

But it never came. In it's place was fire.

The thick column of fire seared at Escaflowne's armor, and thus van's skin. He screamed in sudden shock and ducked away from the maelstrom. However, instead of hitting him, the flames hit the tower, leaving lines of black scorch marks in its wake. Laughing, Paruchi aimed his arm at Escaflowne and pulled the trigger two, three more times. The fourth time, Van bit his lip and plunged into the fire, sword before him, splitting the flames into two orange streams. The pain was immense. He felt as if he were simultaneously in an oven and being burned by external flames. With a desperate yell, Van thrust Escaflowne's sword directly into the spout of the flamethrower.

He plunged Escaflowne's sword into the Alseides unit's arm as if it were a piece of earth. Metal curled away and became blue fire, and then air. Van drew back his sword and prepared to drive it straight into the pilot's cage.

Inside his stolen guymelef, Paruchi smiled, and pressed a button. Night turned to day.

"Shit!"

Van's entire world was wiped away in a whitewash of light. In the distance, he could hear the sound of a guymelef powering up for flight, and fumbled around, trying to concentrate on what Hitomi taught him about second sight. There, he could see the pendant in his mind's eye. It swung, and then... there! The stolen Alseides unit was already taking to the skies.

Red spots were swarming his vision now. Van swore again. He'd have to rely on his second sight in order to track his quarry, which he didn't like to use often ever since his cold fall into death. If he didn't, though... if Paruchi wasn't lying about the fortress...

Thunder rolled over the land as the fortress drew close enough to cast a shadow. They were broadcasting something, but it was drowned out by the noise of their approach.

"...the flying fortress... pursuit... hostile... ... ... war."

No choice. Van closed his eyes.

"Van!"

"Allen!"

In his mind's eye, Van could see Scherazade closing in along the castle wall. He regretted that Allen hadn't come earlier, but now, at least, he had someone else on his side.

"Where did our friend go?" Allen asked, standing with his sword at the ready.

"He flew off to the North. Allen, I'm going to chase him, but I need you to follow me in case I fall behind. I can't see."

"Backup will arriving soon. You should fall back to the castle."

"He's after Hitomi," Van said, teeth gritted.

"Ah," Allen replied, his voice taking on a dangerous tone. "I'll cover you."

At that, Van transformed Escaflowne into its dragon shape and took to the wind. Allen ran close behind him, unconsciously acting as backup if the strain of keeping up his second sight proved too much for him. He could already feel the darkness lapping at the corners of his mind.

Paruchi hadn't gotten far; his unit had been so badly damaged that it couldn't hold a consistent speed. Sometimes it would burst forward in great lengths, but often it would hold at a steady upward crawl, directly to the north, toward the flying fortress. It looked more and more to Van that the Sorcerer was retreating to a safe haven, and the fight that lay ahead made Van's stomach turn.

"Van, there's a clearing about a mile head of him. See if you can herd him there. I'll be waiting.

"Right."

Escaflowne tilted sideways and then shot up like an arrow as it caught the wind. Van's face stung and his eyes watered, but he climbed higher and faster, positioning Escaflowne for the best possible angle of approach. He didn't want Paruchi to be expecting him. When Escaflowne would go no higher, he shut off manual control and let it fall.

For a moment, the dragon hung there as if stripped of gravity. It felt to Van is if his stomach had relocated to his neck. Then, they dove out of the moons.

Paruchi didn't see him coming. Escaflowne swept alongside the puttering Alseides and took off the rest of its left arm, and the craft spun wildly out of control until the Sorcerer managed to stop it. Weaponless and defenseless, he should have tried to steer his melef to the clearing below and into Allen's waiting arms, but instead, he spurred the machine higher, to what purpose Van couldn't fathom.

"You're going to kill yourself!" Van shouted, but his voice washed away in the wind.

The flying fortress was close now. It looked as if Paruchi were trying to reach what haven it could offer, but judging from the damage, Van knew that the Alseides would never make it that high.

Years later, Van would still not understand what happened next.

Something flashed high in the sky, in the direction of the fortress. Then, in an explosion that left Van and Allen's ears ringing for minutes afterwards, the bottom of the Alseides unit went off in a spectacular display of blue light, sending the pilot's portion of the craft careening into the trees below.

In the silence that followed, Van could finally understand the words coming from the flying fortress.

"This is the flying fortress _Brescia_. We are in pursuit of a hostile renegade. Please remain in your homes. This is not an act of war. I repeat. This is the flying fortress _Brescia_."

* * *

"Please accept my humble pardon, your majesties, for any inconvenience we may have caused on this day of celebration," the young Captain Amparo offered, clicking his heels together and bowing before the gathered royals in the crowded throne room.

After the broadcast message of the fortress had finally reached the city, the fervor in the ballroom had slackened enough to allow the royal guard to evacuate most of the guests in a more or less orderly manner. There were many present, however, who didn't take these reasons at face value, and had to be escorted away under their own personal guard before they agreed to leave. Consequently, after two hours, the skies and streets were still thick with departing airships, horses, and carriages. Those that remained behind remained to judge. The monarchs and representatives of all the nations on Gaea involved in the Destiny War would not be left out of any revelations. Including their retinues.

Hitomi stood in the thick of this, anxiously peering around for Van. Where was he? Why hadn't he come back to her? She could see Allen, quietly shadowing Eries and Millerna, but he hadn't been able to bring her any news since his arrival in the throne room, followed closely by Captain Amparo and his standard-bearers. Merle, anxious for the same, had dragged Hitomi to the very front row so they could both get a clear view of the proceedings.

"Van-Sama," she muttered, over and over.

"I especially offer my apologies to you, King Aston, for letting the renegade get this far. We did our best with limited resources, and wish that we could have done better. It is not Zaibach's wish to inconvenience anyone at this stage in our recoveries."

King Aston, recently roused from his sick bed, could only nod. His daughters stood at one side, still holding hands, with Dryden on his other, still bedecked in his outrageous ballroom apparel. With a sideways glance at King Aston, Dryden stepped forward.

"That's all well and good, Captain, but we'd appreciate a little warning next time you're chasing someone across our borders. That kind of thing ruins parties."

A light chuckle rustled though the room.

Amparo pressed his lips together. "Forgive us, but we had no way of communicating the message to you. We could not stop, and the news of his flight only reached the capital this morning. If you had resonators like us, perhaps..."

"Now's the perfect time to get them installed!" Dryden proclaimed, waving his hands as if he were presenting the grand prize in a game show. "It'll be your way of saying you're sorry. Why don't you get some men on that, say, tomorrow?"

Bowing again, Amparo said, "With pleasure. Again, Zaibach offers her most humble apologies for our part in this unfortunate event."

He straightened, and appeared to be turning to leave, when Eries called out to him.

"Wait," she said, releasing her sister's hand. "We've not established the nature of this renegade's crime. If it necessitates an entire flying fortress crossing the borders of its former enemies without a moment spared for communication, I believe that the leaders present are owed an explanation."

Hitomi could swear she saw Amparo glance at her before replying, in a careful, rehearsed-sounding voice, "The renegade Sorcerer Paruchi was in possession of a stolen Alseides unit, intending to act on behalf of the Zaibach Empire in an attack against those gathered here in revenge for his work being declared illegal. His main targets were King Van Fanel and Lady Hitomi Kanzaki, without whom he believed that his patron would be alive today."

There were murmurs throughout the room at this. Even Merle stopped repeating Van's name and stared up at her. Hitomi felt as if she were a specimen under a microscope. Fervently, she wished that everything didn't have to always come back to her and Van.

"And where, pray, is Van Fanel?" the deep-voiced Emperor of Cesario demanded.

"Forgive me, sir," Allen interrupted, "But he's recovering from his role in containing the renegade."

"We would not have stopped him so quickly without Escaflowne's aid," Amparo added. "And for that, Zaibach is in Fanelia's debt."

"You should be!" Merle shouted.

"Merle!" Hitomi whispered, mortified.

The young captain turned to Merle and stared at her. She glowered in his direction for as long as she could, not heeding the amused and horror-struck looks on the faces of everyone present. After what seemed like a very long time, Merle began to blush, and looked away.

"Well, then," Amparo said, turning back to King Aston. "My crew and I will be retiring to the _Brescia_ for the night. We will begin our work on the resonant communicators at dawn. If I have your leave?"

Aston nodded. Amparo clicked his heels together and bowed. Heads dipped throughout the room or were left straight. He did not notice. With a formal tun of his heels, he led his men down the aisle and out the grand entrance, their standards fluttering as they filed out.

Immediately, the crowd began to disperse.

"What are you waiting for?" Merle snapped at Hitomi, indignant. "Allen knows where Van-Sama is!"

"R-right!"

Merle took off running down the still-cleared aisle towards Allen. Hitomi followed as quickly as she could without breaking into a run herself. She didn't want to attract any more stares.

When she was close enough, she heard Dryden say, "That went well. It was almost like they told us the truth."

"Hush," Eries whispered. "Later."

Though her curiosity was piqued, Hitomi put it out of her mind. Van was her closest concern at the moment. She pushed her way through a final knot of dignitaries and found Allen staring down at an extremely put-out Merle.

"Why didn't you find us before we had to sit through that stupid political stuff? Van-Sama could be suffering right now! Alone!"

"Merle," Allen began, backing away slowly with his hands protectively in front of him. "I had to answer my duty, I couldn't simply-"

"Yes you could! Van-Sama would have done the same for you!"

"Allen."

Allen looked over at Hitomi and his defensive posture dropped. "Ah, Hitomi. My apologies for not finding you before the meeting. Are you well?"

Hitomi shook her head. "You said Van was recovering. Is he hurt?"

"Not... per se. He's resting in his room right now."

He was avoiding something. Probably due to some hangup he had about propriety and saving face in the midst of so many listening ears. Hitomi found she didn't really care. What mattered was

"Finally!" Merle growled. "You should have said something before!"

"Thanks, Allen," said Hitomi, before turning to follow Merle, who had already forced her way past at least fifteen people.

"Wait, Hitomi!"

She stopped, and looked over her shoulder at him. "Yes?"

"Don't light any candles when you get there."

"Why?"

Allen glanced nervously around him, and then slowly shook his head. "It's just that... he needs to rest. It would be better if he did it in the dark."

Though frustrated with his lack of communication skills, Hitomi nodded, and left.

* * *

It was late. It was a very good thing it was late, thought Van, because he didn't know if his eyes could have stood even the evening sun. At least, he thought, there was nothing wrong with his hearing. Merle's cries of "Van-Sama" were as loud as they'd ever been.

"I'm okay, Merle," he said, stroking her back as she cried into his shirt.

"You don't know that!" she sobbed. "You haven't even seen a doctor yet! Oh, Van-Sama, I'll take care of you!"

"Come on, Merle. I saw Millerna."

There was a soft click as his bedroom door opened, and then shut again. Hitomi entered the room. He wished that he could have seen her more clearly. At the moment, her figure was a blurry form in turquoise and sandy blond. There was no longer the glint of aquamarine around her neck; he guessed that she'd abandoned the ornate necklace in favor of her own pendant.

"I was worried about you," she chided, sitting next to him on the bed.

She put her hand over his. He noticed that she was trembling a little.

"I'm fine," he said, taking her hand in turn. "Millerna says that I'll see as well as before in a few days. This is only temporary."

"She says it's only _temporary_!? What does she know, she's not even trained!" Merle wailed.

Van frowned at her convulsing form, then turned back to Hitomi. "I stopped him. He won't bother you again."

"Or you," Hitomi said, with a nervous laugh. "Don't forget he was after you too."

"I can take care of myself."

There was a soft knock at the door. Van and Hitomi let go of each other's hands and straightened up.

"Enter," Van called.

The door opened, and there was Millerna. Though Van couldn't see her very well, he noticed that she was still in her clothes for the ball, just as she had been when she waylaid him for an impromptu examination after he landed Escaflowne back in the hangar. Allen had somehow gotten there before him and warned her that someone might need medical assistance. Though the examination was cut short due to the arrival of Captain Amparo and his men, Millerna had promised to find him later and "fix him up."

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, walking up to the bed. "But I made something for your eyes."

She held out a long strip of cloth that was packed with strange-smelling herbs ground into a poultice. Hitomi took it.

"Make sure he wears this when he goes to sleep," she explained. "It'll help him heal faster. I got the herbs from the mole man."

"He's still around?" Hitomi said, mystified. "I thought he left to scrounge for war spoils."

"Or hiding under tables and looking up women's skirts," Merle said into Van's shirt.

Millerna smiled. "Yes. He tends to keep to himself, but he's always around when I need him. I don't know how he knows, but he always does."

"He helped you chase after Allen, didn't he?" Hitomi recalled.

"And he helped me save him. I don't know what I would have done without my medical bag back then."

In her lap, Hitomi ran her finger gingerly over the poultice-blindfold. "Tell him thank you."

"I will. When you put it on him, make sure his eyes are closed and the wet part goes on over them. It won't sting if he opens them, but it'll be uncomfortable."

"Hey, I'm right here," Van said, annoyed.

"Hitomi, take care of him tonight. Make sure the blindfold doesn't come off in the night."

"But I-" Hitomi looked at Merle, and then said in a low voice, "I can't. Not now, with so many important people here. They'll talk."

Even though she was saying just what he'd tried to impress upon her when she first started sleeping in his bed, Van felt a pang of regret. He'd gotten used to her being there without realizing it.

Merle sat up straight and wiped the tears from her face. "They'll have plenty of other things to talk about without worrying about what you're doing."

"She's right," Millerna said. "And even if they do find out, they'll think it's romantic. You're tending to your wounded lover, after all."

Hitomi blushed furiously, and Van coughed and looked away. A private person to begin with, it made Van uncomfortable that so many people were talking about his relationship with Hitomi, even if it removed certain obstacles in the eyes of the public. The difference between them, however, was that because he was raised to acknowledge that he would always be first in the thoughts of his people, it was a feeling he could get used to in time. He wasn't yet sure about her. And with so many people present, he wasn't ready to ask.

"I don't know," Hitomi stammered, seeming to answer his thoughts, "Merle said-"

"Besides," Merle interrupted, "I'll stay too. As chaperon."

Van wasn't sure he was comfortable with the idea of Merle sleeping curled at the foot of his bed while Hitomi was in it, but he had to agree with her logic. And her unsaid approval of them sleeping in the same bed seemed to make Hitomi's hesitance ebb.

"It's really okay?"

Van took her hand in his. "Stay," he whispered.

A warm smile bloomed on her face, which he could imagine with perfect clarity, even though his eyes were clouded.

"Okay."

"Well," Millerna said, after a few moments of silence. "I'll order one of the maids to bring you a bowl of hot water at dawn, so you can resoak the blindfold and reapply it during daylight hours. If anyone asks about you two, I'll say I ordered you to watch Van during his recovery."

"Thanks, Millerna," Hitomi said.

"No problem. Just don't stay up fooling around. Van needs to rest right now."

Millerna just dodged the pillows Merle and Hitomi threw at her as she ducked out the door.

* * *

With an amused sigh, Millerna stepped into the hallway. Allen was there, waiting for her.

"How are they?" he asked. "How is Hitomi?"

"They seem like they'll make it. I had to talk Hitomi into staying the night, but I wasn't really expecting her to say yes right away."

Allen looked uncomfortable, but chose not to comment on the propriety of the situation. Millerna was thankful for his concession. She really didn't feel like getting into an argument with him after the intensity of the day.

"I'm worried about Celena," she said, taking his arm and leading him away. "Did you get her home okay?"

"Yes; I sent Gaddes and a few of my men to accompany her home. I'm to wake her up when I get back."

"We'll talk tomorrow," Millerna said. "It'll be better for Eries if we're not grumpy and snapping at each other."

Allen bowed his head. "I can't promise you'll like what you hear."

"Well, I can't promise I'll be mature and rational about it. But I want to hear it, okay? I don't like finding things out about the people I love most from rumors and speculation."

"Love, huh?" Allen said with a half smile.

"Of course," she primly replied. "I love you both. Even if you make me furious sometimes."

Allen stopped, and Millerna walked a few paces without realizing it. She turned to see him standing stock still in the middle of the hallway, an intense, painful look on his face, as if he were preparing to say something that he very much did not want to say, but knew he had to before it was too late. Millerna knew exactly what it was. She didn't want to hear it yet.

"Princess, I-"

"How many times have I asked you not to call me that?" she teased. "Now, here's my stop. Promise you'll come tomorrow."

She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. Uncertainly, he looked down on her smiling face and brought his hand to the place where she'd kissed him.

"I will," he said, sounding dazed.

"Good. Tell Celena I said hello."

She waved breezily at him and walked away, leaving him standing dumbfounded in the middle of the hallway.

There would be time for confessions tomorrow. From all of them.

* * *

When Van woke up, it was still an hour before dawn. He stood up and stretched. Where was Merle?

Wind stirred his hair, and he realized that Merle must have opened the window and taken one of her nightly walks on the palace roof. She often did that back in Fanelia; midnight walks were a habit all cats had, as none of them were able to sleep through the night on the best of days.

Hitomi stirred beside him, but didn't wake. She'd changed into her usual night clothes of a t-shirt and track shorts before going to bed that night, just as he'd abandoned his formal wear for his usual loose trousers. He fingered the blindfold still wrapped around his eyes, but didn't disturb it further. He did want to heal fast, even if it was cumbersome to sleep with a damp cloth around his head.

From a corner of the room, there was a slight rustling noise. Van's remaining senses were instantly on alert.

"Merle?" he called, turning in the direction of the sound.

Silence. He took a step towards the bed, where he knew his sword still lay against the foot. There was the noise again; like a rat rustling through a crate.

"Who's there?"

"V-Van-Sama..." Merle's voice whimpered, and then silence, and a sound like a sack of potatoes hitting the floor.

"Merle!" he cried, diving for the noise.

Before he could reach her, something hit him around the middle, and he staggered back, toward the window, the wind knocked out of him.

"If you won't come alive," someone panted, his voice thick, as if his mouth were full of something, "You will come dead. Both of you will."

A hand was around his throat now. Van kicked at his attacker, but his grip was firm and would not break.

"If-" Van croaked, "If I had- my sw- sword-"

He gasped, unable to continue. Lights swam in the darkness behind his eyelids.

And then, like a shovel being driven into the wet ground, something was stuck in Paruchi's back and then pulled free. The Sorcerer released Van and screamed, clutching at his back as if he could remove the wound by clawing it from his skin. Van he fell gasping to the floor.

"Van!" Hitomi cried, dropping the sword with a clatter and running to his side.

"Not again!" Paruchi snarled, and Van could hear him staggering towards them.

But he didn't notice the sword.

It was only later that Hitomi was able to describe what happened to Van, after he'd taken care of Merle and brought her to the capable arms of Millerna, and after he'd held her the rest of the night as she cried. The bare sword was sharp enough to cut through Paruchi's boots, and the pain of the sudden second stabbing caused the man to jump backwards in alarm. Hitomi wasn't able to explain how he didn't hear where the sword fell, but for a moment, in the moons' light, she saw that each of his ears was red with blood.

She said that he lost his footing and fell backwards, over the railing of the balcony outside Van's room, and tumbled onto the stones below.


	25. The Moon

A/N: HOLY CRAP HOW DID THIS CHAPTER GET SO LONG AAAAAAAAAAH.

*coughs, regains sanity*

For the last two chapters, I've used tarot cards to reference some of the things that happen within them. Consequently, some things took a turn I wasn't expecting. If you want a preview of the mood of this chapter, learntarot dot com has a wonderful database.

I hope you like it. Thank you as always.

edit 4/16/09: check for updates on my writing at .com/. I'm sorry it's been taking so long, but I promise, this story hasn't been abandoned. I'm just a slowpoke. SLOW.

* * *

Chapter 25 - The Moon

The beams of the amber and pink sunrise flowed across the already crowded streets of Pallas like water. It rose on arguments, on spirited business transactions, on people hurrying home after a night of debauchery, on people going to work. On airships lifting off toward all directions of the compass. On aristocrats shaking hands with elected officials. On loosened stones, which lay scattered about one tower of the palace. On bloodstains, still fresh outside the window of the King of Fanelia.

"Well, well," said the Moleman, picking through the rubble. "Seem's the little lady's made something of herself. Oh, what a wonderful clasp."

The breeze picked up a cloud of dust that carried up, up, and up to the high balcony, on which Hitomi stood, holding herself and staring at the lightening horizon. She leaned into the morning wind and took a deep breath. It smelled like brine, cooking meat, heavily scented flowers, and hot stone. The particular smell she was expecting never came. She knew it was there, though, somewhere. After all, it was all over her hands.

Blood. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see it glistening in the moons' light.

_Breathe_, she told herself. _Van said I shouldn't think about it. He knows what he's talking about. I can't let this get to me. I can't._

But every time she blinked...

Uneasily, she glanced at his still-sleeping form. How did he deal with this? What did he do to make it easier? Was he lying to make her feel better? Did it ever get easy? Did she want it to?

Hundreds of questions piled one on top of the other, and suddenly she could no longer hold in the contents of her stomach. She clapped her hand over her mouth and swallowed, trying to keep it down, but within seconds she was leaning over the balcony railing and vomiting on the stones below.

"Damn it," she whispered, coughing, hoping that Van wouldn't hear. Just to be sure, she snuck another glance at the bed. He was still there, breathing slowly, asleep.

Even though he'd answered her wishes, a part of her was disappointed.

_I've got to get out of here,_ she thought, her mind spinning in tight circles. _Before anyone wakes up. Out, I've got to get out. I need to run. Where are my track clothes?_

Wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, she got to her feet and slipped out of the room as quietly as she could. The handle of the door clicked softly in its latch.

A few seconds after she left, Van sat up and watched as sunlight broke over the closed door.

* * *

The strap on Eries' hat would not buckle, and she was going to be late. She was never late. This was unacceptable.

"Oh, why won't this thing cooperate?" she groaned, turning this way and that in the mirror, trying to see where her usually deft fingers were going wrong.

Allen stifled a chuckle, but too late to avoid a well-earned glare. He'd have felt bad if the situation hadn't been so ridiculous. Instead, he coughed and politely looked away.

"Fine!" she growled, marching over to him and roughly handing him her hat. "You do it. We can't afford to be late."

"Of course, princess," Allen said, smoothly buckling it into place.

His fingers lingered slightly longer than they should have. It was an innocent gesture. It wouldn't do for her hat to fall off in the middle of delivering a farewell speech to the Prime Minister of Daedalus, whom they were scheduled to meet with in less than ten miets. But for a moment, he could swear he saw the faint traces of a blush.

"Th- Thank you," she said, turning away and tucking her hair behind her ears.

Amused by her stammering, Allen bent to her height and murmured, "Princess?" his mouth close to her ear.

She snapped straight up and began marching toward the door. "Yes! We need to hurry! Come, Allen!"

Allen laughed quietly and followed. He had no idea what had gotten her so out of sorts that morning, but a ruffled, stammering Eries was a welcome callback to the days they'd spent together as teenagers. She'd slid so smoothly into her role as the unaccessible ice princess of Asturia that he'd almost forgotten how adorable she could be when there was something on her mind, and she wasn't under the scrutiny of the national council.

The pair marched past many tight-knit groups of dignitaries and courtiers on their way to the royal hangars. The summit was over, and all the delegates were departing as quickly as they could, all efforts at finery abandoned in the face of their eagerness to get home and resume their own comfortable niches of power. Allen had thought they'd looked splendid when they'd arrived in full regalia for the first day of the summit; now that they were leaving, he thought they looked even better. He'd finally be able to retire to his home for a time while the King and his Counselors decided on his next post. Sadly, he was certain that he couldn't count on a post close to home, despite his sister's condition. The war had done nothing to reduce the fame that had initially booted him to the frontier. He was wondering whether he could ever get Celena used to life at Castelo Fort when something small, pink, and very fast collided with his middle.

"Ow!" she snarled. "Allen! Watch where you're going!"

Merle tried to duck under his arms and take off running again, but he caught her around the shoulders. She tried to scratch him.

"Merle! Merle. What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she spat, blushing, "I have to go somewhere. Let me go!"

Even though she was out of breath and only did it half-heartedly, she tried to swipe at him again. Allen glanced at Eries, who was looking as puzzled as he was.

"Do you... are you in need of assistance of any kind?"

"No!" she yelled, attracting the attention of a few passing maids. "Please, just let me go!"

"Well, if we're keeping you," Eries said, nodding at Allen.

He complied, and Merle dashed off before they could ask another question.

"What was that all about?" Allen murmured.

Eries shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Come, we're going to be late as it is."

"Certainly, Princess."

Disregarding his 'princess' with a frosty glance, Eries led him without further incident to the small door through which they would find hangar #14 and the Daedalan delegation. He bent to open the door for Eries, bowed her into the room, and took in the scene before him.

He was greeted by sound of whirring propellers and the loud shouts of the crew as they loaded the last of their passengers' luggage on board. If the airship had already started warming up, he thought, they really were cutting it close. Millerna and Dryden were already there, conversing with a small knot of people gathered in front of the gangplank. Most of them were tall, dark-skinned, and wearing green and yellow clothing, which Allen thought was strangely out-of-place.

"Allen!" a small voice called out. "You came!"

Chid ran up to Allen and grabbed hand excitedly, and it was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his heart.

"Y- yes. I said I would, didn't I?"

Chid pulled on Allen's hand until the older man was forced to bend down to hear the Duke whisper, "I knew you'd come. Iaka and the others said you'd be too busy, but I knew you'd make it. Mother said Knights always keep their word."

"Of course."

"Oh! Come on, you should meet everyone."

He didn't resist when the child dragged him towards the airship, to his waiting retinue, all of whom looked to be shrewd, protective men. If they saw the resemblance... Chid was wrong. He'd hoped to avoid this.

_You sickening, faithless man,_ thought Allen.

"Good morning Chid, gentlemen," said Eries, wearing her best cool smile. "I trust my sister and the Regent have been treating you well."

Dryden's glasses glinted. "At least we were punctual."

"We ran into some trouble in the corridor," was Eries' diplomatic answer. "I trust your stay with us was pleasant, Marquis Iaka? Sir Earls?"

In the tumultuous discussion that launched following Eries' calculated inquiry, Millerna discreetly laid her hand on Allen's arm, the other of which was still in the possession of a smiling Chid.

"Are you okay, Allen? You look ill."

"Never better," Allen muttered. "I was up late, that's all."

Immediately, Chid picked up on the reference. "Is it true you fought off the Zaibach guymelef last night?"

"The credit lies with King Van for that. I merely assisted him."

Chid smiled up at him. "I know you're just being modest."

"I try never to exaggerate my abilities or my failures, Duke Chid. In the end, I wasn't able to capture the pilot. He disappeared into the forest before I could remove him from his guymelef. I don't know what became of him."

Millerna's eyes widened. "Didn't you hear?"

"Hear what? Was he captured?"

He could see Millerna hesitating.

"Millerna, what happened?" he whispered, alarmed.

"He was taken care of," she said, not looking at him.

His eyebrows contracted. "Millerna!"

"Allen, have you met Iaka yet? I know you saw him at the ball, but you didn't really have a chance to talk," Chid said, tugging on Allen's hand.

"Ah, no. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Allen said with a formal bow.

"A privilege, Sir Allen. Our Duke seems quite fond of you."

Iaka was a powerfully built man, though short. Allen thought that he had the kind of eyes that could size you up in once glance, like Eries' or, on occasion, Dryden's. If he weren't so distracted with concern over the fate of the previous night's attacker, he would not have said what he said next.

"I used to be his mother's personal guard."

There was a pause. The two men stared at each other, one shocked at what he had just done, one suddenly distant and unreadable. Millerna put her hand over her mouth. Around them, the conversation continued as it had, for Eries was still involved in smoothing over the complaints of the Freidian Earls and Dryden was attempting to convince the Earl of Uttar to agree to a business contract, but what had slipped out of Allen's mouth could not be unsaid. Iaka, it was apparent, was no fool.

"Really?" said Chid, oblivious to what had just passed. "She used to tell me stories about him, but she never told me that!"

"Is that so?"

"Allen was a friend to all of us," Millerna quickly cut in. "He used to take me to the market on festival days when I was nine, right, Allen?"

"My Caeli duties were not often so rewarding."

Iaka raised one eyebrow. "I'm certain they were quite pleasurable at times."

"Indeed," he weakly managed, the blood draining from his entire body.

"Say, Allen, when are you coming to visit? We're going to have Kritem's feast day in a few months. I'd like to show your sister the parades."

"Sir Allen's duties likely won't allow him so soon a visit, Your Highness. Perhaps in a year or two, after the reconstruction."

"You're probably right," Chid said, his face falling.

"It's a shame you're leaving so soon, Chid," Millerna said. "I'm sure your Aunt Eries would have like to spend more time with you. Why don't you go say goodbye?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to neglect her. Allen, I'll be right back."

Chid trotted off, and Iaka cleared his throat. "We should all be going. We have much work to do rebuilding the capital when we get home. It may be years before any of us have the time for visits. It may be best if you avoid coming at all. The vipers' nest of a palace is no place for reunions. Especially so soon after war."

Allen's heart-rate slowed. "Yes. Of course."

"Perhaps you could visit with the Duke when you're both away from court. I hear Fanelia has spectacular sights to see during the winter, when the dragons nest. My family keeps a home there for the rainy season."

"You're very kind to offer Allen your villa, Marquis. Oh! That reminds me. My sister wanted to discuss something with you. Eries!" Millerna called. "Could you come here for a moment!"

"I should give the Duke my farewells," Allen said, his voice shaking almost imperceptibly.

"An excellent idea," said Iaka with a bow. "It was a pleasure to have met you, Sir Allen. Go with peace."

"Go with peace," Allen repeated.

Eries arrived, looking puzzled but polite, and Allen walked away.

The palms of his hands were starting to sweat through his gloves now. He clenched and unclenched them as he strode towards Chid and Dryden. Would they notice? Dryden certainly would. The Earls didn't seem as astute as the Marquis, so it was unlikely they'd make the connection without pointed help, but how long would Iaka keep his silence?

"Allen!" said Chid. "We have to go, the pilot just said that the engines are ready. I'm sorry I can't stay longer; I wanted to see your sister again."

"I'll give Celena your regards."

"You'll come visit as soon as you can, right, Allen?"

"As soon as I can," Allen promised, his breathing constricting.

"Your Highness," said the Earl of Abjibrid, "The captain is beckoning."

"Sorry. I'll see you soon, Allen. Regent Dryden, say goodbye to Aunt Millerna for me."

"Sure. I might drop in for the festival you were telling me about if this guy can't make it," Dryden said, clapping Allen on the back. "I love a good party."

"I'm looking forward to it. Well, then."

Allen was silent. Chid shifted awkwardly. His hat was at an angle. It took most of what Allen had to resist bending over to straighten it. He couldn't afford to act like more than an acquaintance in front of so many unfamiliar eyes. Not after what had just happened.

"Goodbye," the little boy said.

"Farewell, Your Highness" said Allen. Chid seemed disappointed.

In a few moments, the Freidian party was aboard the airship, with the Marquis bringing up the rear. It took off in a flurry of propellers that kicked up so much air Eries had to hold her hat in place. There was too much noise to speak. Allen was thankful. For one thing, no one could hear the way he way he moaned as he put his hand to his face.

As silence descended upon them again, Eries put her hand on Allen's shoulder.

"Allen, I-"

He whipped around, enraged. "How could you do this to me?"

She actually stepped back. "I was only-"

"You were only manipulating me, as if I were one of those idiot politicians you order about."

"You wouldn't have come if I hadn't done it like this!" she countered, her cheeks pink, her brows furrowed.

He was shouting now, furious at her perception. "You don't know that! You didn't even give me the right to decide!"

"Hey, Allen, speak up," Dryden said, casually leaning against the wall. "They don't hear you down the hall yet."

"I-" Allen shouted, then stopped, breathing hard. "I'm sorry. It wouldn't do for anyone to- I need to control myself."

"You certainly do," Millerna snapped. "You're acting like a child."

"You're right, of course. I apologize for my insolence, Your Highness," he said, bowing to them.

"Stop it, Allen," said Eries.

"If the Princess would prefer I pay my respects in some other fashion, perhaps she could describe it to her humble servant. I exist only to satisfy her whims. Now that I've revealed my son's parentage to the person most likely to take over his position should he be removed, shall I reveal my sister's origins to the Minister of War next to appease her Majesty's sense of justice, and have her tried for crimes against humanity?"

Deliberately, and radiating a deadly calm, Eries walked up to Allen, raised her hand, and slapped him across the face.

"You're a fool, Allen Schezar," she said.

And she stormed out of the room, her green cloak bellowing behind her like a storm. With a final, angry but concerned look at Allen, Millerna chased after her sister. Allen and Dryden were alone.

* * *

"Rhum," Van called, stopping the wolf-man in his tracks. "Have you seen Hitomi anywhere today?"

Lazily, Rhum scratched his chin and said, "No, can't say that I have. Did you try asking Merle?"

Van shook his head. "I can't find her anywhere. Someone else was looking for her, too, actually. That Zaibach captain, Amparo."

Rhum laughed. "Poor girl shouldn't have mouthed off to him last night. Bet he remembers her well enough now."

"Sure," Van distractedly replied. "Be seeing you."

The high noon sun beat down on him, making him sweat. Hitomi still hadn't returned. When he'd let her go that morning, he didn't think that she'd go completely missing in a few short hours. None of the people in the palace had seen her since she'd been spotted running down the front steps in her track clothes that morning, so he'd moved his search to the streets. He was having no luck. It didn't help that his vision was still slightly blurry, so he had trouble distinguishing exactly who he was talking to at times, once confusing a very short young woman with the elderly tailor who'd made Celena's dresses.

He paused to wipe sweat from his forehead and glanced around him, trying to identify anyone who could possibly know who Hitomi was, or where she'd gone, but the crowd was a blur. All the multicolored tarps over the stalls mingled to form a long, single rainbow that wrapped around either side of the narrow street and ended in the shining canals. He couldn't even see any faces. A seagull cried above him and wheeled around, searching for scraps, and he wished he could take off his shirt and fly.

"Hey, Van."

It was Rhum again.

"Hey. What is it?"

"I was thinking," Rhum said, "It's a hot day today. It'd be nice if you could get out of the sun for a spell."

"Yeah," Van said, absently.

"My tribe, we like to get back to the trees and out of the city around this time. Return to places we know. You might try taking Escaflowne for a spin, cool yourself off, get out to that barn you used to keep it in. It'll be better for us if it's out there instead of in the royal hangars when it's time to go back to Fanelia."

Van put his handkerchief back in his pocket and fixed his friend with a penetrating gaze. "Sure, Rhum. As soon as I find Hitomi."

"I'd take care of it while the sun's still high. Never know what you'll find at this time of day," he said. "Well, I'll be seeing you."

"Sure, Rhum."

He watched the wolf-man as he walked away, until he disappeared into the blurry crowd. Rhum's advice was often sound. His thoughts strayed back to the moment he'd seen the seagull and wished that he could fly without being stoned to death for revealing his cursed wings.

But with Escaflowne...

* * *

Hitomi sighed and laid her hand against the cool, rough doorframe. The barn was as empty as she'd expected it to be. A few musty piles of hay and cast-off tarps remained scattered about the cavernous space, and a pile of old and rusty tools still leaned against a disused corner, just as she remembered. Except for the presence of a hulking guymelef, it was all the same.

And it was hot. She'd run for so long and so hard that she'd lost track of time. At least she wasn't hungry, though she knew she would be, later.

The ladder was still in its usual spot. Smiling a little, she made her way over to it and shook it a little to test for sturdiness. The wood buckled, but didn't show any signs of breaking. She placed her hand on the smooth, warm wood and began her ascent. When her head crested the top, she spotted something lying near the ladder, like a pile of rags. Curious, she bent towards it and cautiously lifted a fold.

It was a sack. Not just any sack, she found as around five orange-brown gourds rolled into her sight. The very same sack Van carried with him that day. The day that he'd tried to make her feel better. The day he'd botched his own confession so badly that she'd slapped him and run away. The day she'd kissed Allen.

What had Van said about piscus? That it would settle the stomach? She certainly had a stomach-ache from all that running. And piscus was a gourd, wasn't it? Maybe it was still good. She grabbed one of the more promising-looking ones from the sack and cracked it open, just as Van had taught her. A sharp, sour odor wafted out of the fruit. So it was still good. She grabbed a piece of straw from a nearby pile, dipped it into the juice, and took a long, slow sip.

Oh, it was sour! She drew back, coughing a little, but forced herself to swallow it. The burning sensation eased as it traveled down her esophagus and into her stomach, where it began to ease the nausea she'd felt since she'd gotten up that morning and saw the place where Paruchi had fallen.

He'd never taste anything again. He'd never sigh, he'd never sleep, he'd never hold something, he'd never laugh. Did he laugh? Hitomi couldn't remember. All she could see was a ripped black cloak with purple lining, broken glasses shining in the moon's light as he staggered away from her, staring at the blood on his hands.

She'd done it. Unbidden, a fat tear slid down her cheek.

_Stop it, Hitomi. He's not worth crying over._

More tears. They kept coming, hot and salty. She wiped them away and left a trail of dirt on her cheeks.

He'd never hurt anyone again. There wouldn't be anyone locked in a cell, slowly starving in the name of the science he'd claimed to love.

Love. Someone may have loved him. Maybe he loved someone, though she wasn't sure he was capable of such a thing. His parents, perhaps. Were they still alive? Did they miss their son?

She let out a moan that echoed across the empty barn, and began to sob.

* * *

Millerna stared at the miniature in her hands. She'd found it behind a small stack of books on Eries' desk, face down, knocked over as if on accident. The fingerprints on the back, however, told a different story.

The contents told another entirely.

She wasn't sure how the painter had managed to capture this particular scene. He'd obviously taken it from reality; there was no way anyone could imagine her sister smiling like _that_. Eries looked to be roughly fourteen or fifteen. She sat with her hand in her sister's. Marlene's. Millerna paused to trace her eldest sister's face with one fingertip. Even though she was smiling, Marlene looked so sorrowful. Millerna didn't remember that about her sister; the Marlene in her memory was always gently smiling, or dressing for a ball, or dancing with courtiers, laughing quietly behind a fan as she waltzed.

Directly behind Eries stood Allen, short-haired and young. He was the very picture of chivalry; the stoic guard, ever at his ladies' side should she need him. But the painter had captured something deeper than that. It was clear to Millerna why Eries' treasured this miniature so much. Allen's hand was on her shoulder.

"He did that to throw everyone off."

Millerna guiltily spun around. "I'm sorry, you were gone so long I was getting a little restless. I didn't mean to snoop."

"It's okay."

Gently, Eries took the tiny painting from her sister's hand and placed it back on her desk, face down.

"What was wrong with Marlene? She looks so sad."

Eries' hand lingered for a moment on the frame. "No one knew. She went to the best doctors the kingdom had, spoke with priests, traveled. Our Uncle used to take her on shopping trips, or to tournaments. Anything to get her out, he used to say. She used to spend weeks in her room with the curtains drawn. Sometimes she seemed to snap out of it, and she'd be so full of energy that I couldn't hope to keep up with her. It was nice when she was like that."

Eries handed Millerna a cup of tea, took one herself, and walked to the sofa against the wall. They had a good view of the courtyard from there, and the angle of the wall offered them privacy from the still large crowds below.

"Yes. I suppose that's why I didn't mind when she took Allen from me."

"Took him?"

"He was my best friend," said Eries with a quick smile. "He used to argue with me. No one used to argue with me. He was really funny, too. Once, he replaced that nasty tonic the Finance Minister used to guzzle for his health with this whiskey from Daedalus. The man eventually stood up during a council meeting and proclaimed that he'd finally seen the light, and we'd be replacing the gidaru with dragon scales as soon as we could sustain a large-scale farming operation. I had to keep a straight face the whole time, too. It was awful."

"Allen? Funny?" Millerna giggled. "That's hard to imagine."

"It is, isn't it?" Eries said, joining her in laughter. "But he was. I loved that about him. He was always trying to make people smile. To save them, I suppose."

She began to finger the red brooch she habitually wore at her throat. With the high noon sun in her hair, casting soft silver shadows on her delicate fingers, Millerna couldn't figure out why everyone said that Eries was the plain one.

"I think that's how it started with Marlene," she continued. "He knew she was sad and he wanted to help her. I didn't care that she was in love with him, because I had my sister back."

Millerna looked away, and Eries went quiet for a while. All this information was overwhelming. She found herself wishing that she could have been born earlier, so she could be closer in age to her sisters instead of trailing six years behind everything Eries was sharing with her. As it was, she felt excluded, and hated herself for feeling that way.

Finally, Eries spoke again. "I knew he was in love with her before he did, because I know him better than anyone. When he finally came to me, it was long after they'd already 'surrendered themselves,' as he put it. Marlene had just been engaged to the Duke of Freid. I was awful to him. He just stood there and took it, too, like he deserved it. I didn't speak to him for a month."

"Things weren't the same after that, were they?"

Eries shook her head. "No. We had each other when Chid was born, and when Marlene died, but he always kept his distance. I think he was convinced for a while that Marlene would come back to him, and that they could all be together somehow, but when she never wrote him like she promised, he started to take random women home. That hurt us the most, really. I wanted to be there for him, but he wouldn't let me, saying that it wasn't 'honorable' of him. But it was just him running away."

"That man," Millerna muttered.

"Yes. That man. Even though he's stubborn and over-protective and excessively self-pitying, he's easy to love."

"You still love him," Millerna stated. It wasn't a question; it was a fact.

"I do," she agreed, letting her teacup rest in its saucer.

Millerna frowned. "Eries... why didn't you tell me?"

Eries thought for a moment. "I don't know," she eventually said. "It was always my secret. You're the first person I've ever told."

"That's not an excuse! If you'd have told me instead of saying that I was too young or I didn't know what I was doing, I probably would have listened. I couldn't take the person you love," she said, gripping Eries' knee with both hands.

"You weren't taking anyone. I've never had any intention of telling Allen about this."

Millerna was genuinely confused; she'd never known her sister to give up so easily.

"But you can't!" she blurted.

"I can. And I have. If we're together, what might happen to Asturia and to Freid if the truth should come out about Marlene and Chid? If the Duchess' bastard is from some no-account Knight, no one has any reason to use that information against him. What is there to gain? A bloody revolution and the loss of a perfectly competent ruler during a time of national crisis? No; only maniacs are that stupid, and Chid has a good enough circle of protection around him that he needn't worry about that for a long while. If he's a Prince Consort of Asturia's bastard, however..." she took a sip of tea.

It was frightening, how easy it was to imagine the consequences. Blackmail. Assassination. Kidnapping. Chid or Allen dead, maybe Celena dead, too, for simply being related to Chid.

"We all have our duties, Millerna," Eries said, her voice steady and matter-of-fact. "If mine is to live without his love, I can bear that. I can be happy without him."

"Eries," Millerna said, her eyes stinging.

Unable to think of anything else to say, she took her sister's hand. There they sat, not speaking, watching the crowd wax and wane below, and Millerna wondered how she was supposed to sit by and watch Eries throw her love away without any semblance of a fight.

* * *

"I told you to stay away from me!" Merle screamed over her shoulder to the extremely determined young man who'd been following her all day.

She was tired. She'd been trying to give him the slip all morning, but for some reason or another, he was always _there_, no matter where she tried to hide. He'd even shown up in the kitchen laundry, chatting to the matron about methods for getting stains out of uniforms without damaging the cloth. Now that he'd chased her up the West tower, she had nowhere else to go unless she wanted to risk scaling the walls. That didn't mean she was ready to give up, though; she could run in circles all day if she had to.

Unfortunately, it looked like he could, too.

"I wasn't made captain because of my reputation for giving up!" he shouted back. "I just want to talk to you!"

"I don't want to talk!"

"You and I both know that if you didn't want to talk, I wouldn't be able to find you!"

She turned on her heels so suddenly that Amparo nearly fell from the momentum of his sudden stop.

"So what!?" she growled.

He faltered, his lips forming words without sound to back them up.

_Good_, she thought, _Let's see him squirm out of this one._

"I only meant..."

"You only meant what? That I was playing hard to get? What kind of girl do you think I am?"

He held his hands in front of him as if warding something off. "No! I didn't mean to imply..."

"Maybe you should stop and think before you say something!"

"What about you?" he countered, red in the face. "What about what you said last night? Didn't you care that the most important people in the world were watching you?"

Merle snorted. "Who cares about them? You _are_ in Fanelia's debt after what Van-Sama did for you. I'm proud of what I said. Will you go away now?"

"No!"

His hand shot out and gripped her by the shoulder. She was surprised that she'd missed him tensing; usually that kind of thing preluded any human movement. Before she could tell him to let go, he released her, breathing hard.

"I'm sorry. I- what happened to your neck?"

His eyes were wide, staring at the ring of purple bruises that lingered on her skin like a necklace. She rubbed them self-consciously.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't know."

She wasn't expecting so honest an answer. She also wasn't expecting herself to tell him, but the words came spilling out before she could stop herself. She'd always been bad at not saying what was on her mind.

"Some crazy man broke into Van-Sama's room last night. He was trying to kill me. I guess he didn't squeeze hard enough or something, because when he threw me down, I was still alive. I wanted to bite him but I couldn't breathe. That was when Van-Sama saved me."

He was quiet, apparently thinking of something that he had no intention of sharing. taking advantage of the moment, she took a good look at him. He had black hair, like Van's, but his was very fine and light. It looked like it would be soft to the touch. He was very young. She thought that he must have been about Van's age, if not a little younger. It wasn't surprising, considering Zaibach's sudden lack of soldiers, that he would be so young, but it was still strange to see a man of his age in the uniform of a captain. But his eyes weren't young. They were blue and fathomless, like the sea.

She liked them. But damned if she was going to say so.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "It was the Sorcerer, wasn't it? We tried everything we could to stop him, but he already had a head start on us. I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "I've been through worse. Is that why you were following me? To say you were sorry?"

He shook his head. "No. I just wanted to know who you were."

She frowned at him, eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"You're different," he said.

"Different?" she laughed, dancing backward, away from his reach. "Weird. When you say it, it doesn't sound like an insult."

"It's not! Please, I-"

"I'm Merle. You know who I am now. You can stop bothering me. Go back to Zaibach."

He reached out as if to grab her again, but stopped, and his arm dropped limply to his side. "You're right. My men must be wondering where I am. Thank you for your time."

Much to her surprise, he bowed to her, as if she were a true human and not just a cat-beast. She didn't think people in Zaibach had any speck of respect for her kind. It was that, perhaps, combined with the sight of his retreating back, that made her feel like she couldn't just leave things like that.

"I live in the palace in Fanelia, if you want to know," she said, making a show of inspecting her claws.

He stopped, but didn't turn around. The thumb of his right hand rubbed a few quick circles on the hilt of his sword.

"Thank you."

When he entered the stairwell, she called after him, "I still don't like you!"

But there was no answer.

* * *

In her dream, Hitomi was aware that the ground was shaking.

_Like giants, or rockets, or bodies falling to the ground..._

The moon was too bright; she couldn't see what it was. And all the while a voice was whispering to her, "It's the other side of the mirror..."

Why was it so hard to see? She couldn't think, everything was red, red, red-

"Hitomi."

She woke. Hay was in her hair; she must have fallen asleep on the straw in the old hayloft when she'd finished crying.

"Van? What are you doing here?"

"I can't believe I didn't wake you up. Look," he pointed to Escaflowne, which was currently hunched over in man form inside the barn.

Rolling her pendant this way and that between her fingers, she said, "I think I was having a vision... they're sort of hard to wake up from. That explains the shaking, though."

"You were sweating in your sleep."

He laid his cool palm on her forehead, and then on each of her cheeks in turn. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation.

"There's no fever," he finally pronounced, withdrawing his hand. "I think you tired yourself out, though; you're really pale."

"I'm fine," she insisted, but didn't meet his eyes.

He frowned. When she wouldn't look at him, he grabbed her right hand began massaging it with both his thumbs. The sensation was wonderful; someone who knew a lot about caring for one's hands must have taught it to him. Balgus, maybe? A swordsman's hands were some of his most valuable tools, after all. She hadn't realized hers were so sore.

"You're lying," he said, without looking up. "You're not fine. Talk to me."

She sighed, and let him keep working on her hand. "I don't know what I'm supposed to talk about."

"How you feel. Anything."

"I feel awful. I wish I'd never gone with you to Zaibach."

"Why?"

"I messed everything up. If I hadn't been there, that man wouldn't have kidnapped me, and he'd be out of our lives."

"You mean he'd still be alive. Give me your other hand."

She obeyed. "Why couldn't he have left us alone?"

Van shrugged. "It wasn't in his nature. He would have chased us to the end of the world if he could prove he was right. You stopped him."

"I didn't mean to kill him," she whispered, and wasn't able to stop fresh tears from spilling down her face.

"He killed himself, Hitomi."

"I stabbed him. If I hadn't done that, he-"

"I'd be dead," Van said, looking so earnestly at her that she had to close her eyes. "If you hadn't gone with me, Hitomi, that Ispano would be dead, and the Sorcerer would still be killing people, no matter what the law said. You saved more than just Merle and me last night; you probably saved hundreds."

She shook her head, still silently crying. "That doesn't change the fact that he had a life. That he was a person. I took- I took it from him."

"Hitomi," he said, and pulled her to him.

He held her loosely, more as if he were cradling her than pulling her into a tight embrace. She leaned against his shoulder, and his arms circled her back and legs.

"I stabbed him in the back," she said, horrified. "He didn't even hear me coming. Maybe he couldn't. His ears were bleeding. I never meant- I only wanted to stop him."

"You did what you had to do. It's never easy."

She curled into a ball and buried her face in his neck. "How could anyone get used to this? How did you?"

"I didn't," he nearly whispered. "It was war. I did what I had to do. Just like you. But it was never easy."

She drew back, and cupped his cheek with her hands. How could she have thought that way? If she was hurting right now, what about Van? How did he feel, seeing her fall apart like this, after he'd been through so much during the war?

"I'm sorry. You're the bravest person I know."

"You're no braver than I am," he said, giving her that half smile that she loved so much. "Anger only carried me so far before the remorse nearly destroyed me. See? You're already ahead."

She shivered in remembered of Van's march with the dead.

He tucked her hair behind her ears and went on. "I don't think it makes a difference how many times you've done it. It always feels the same. I think the bravest thing you can do is to learn how to live with it. So keep living."

"Okay," she said.

Outside, the moons slipped below the horizon, and the sun burned bright.


	26. The Hanged Man

I... don't know why this took me so long. I was working on it today when I realized that the chapter had finished itself, and that trying to write more on it was as futile as beating my head against a brick wall. I don't even know why I had to write this chapter; I kept avoiding it, but it wanted to be written. I think I threw it away about 3 times before I smoothed out the wrinkles, cocked my head at it, and thought, "Fine, if this is the way it has to be, you'll get written. Just don't bother me again."

I've started a writing journal! Friend me or watch me at nicotialta dot livejournal dot com to keep up on this story. You'll get frustrated rants! You'll get progress reports! You'll get boundless bouts of narcissism! :D :D :D

For all those who have stayed with me this long: Thank you.

Enjoy (I hope)

* * *

Chapter 26 – The Hanged Man

It was surprisingly quiet in the bar that night, considering that just a few hours previous, Pallas had been filled to the brim with people from around the world. The barman was proud to report on further inquiry that his place was set for another two years at least from all the money they'd managed to make "fleecing the foreigners." Upon hearing that, Dryden miserably knocked back a shot of _craythur_ and cursed the day he'd ever let his father talk him into marrying a princess, giving Allen's sense of schadenfreude a pleasurable twinge.

"I could have been making so much money!" he lamented. "People love to spend when they're happy. And the historical significance of the occasion! All those rich people, ready to buy little statuettes of Jichia or commemorative coins of Escaflowne, home without so much as a souvenir! What's the world coming to when an honest merchant can't profit off idiot tourists?"

Allen raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you making money anyway? I assumed that you'd at least had some agents out on the streets..."

"Yes! But I could have been making _more_," Dryden explained, with an air of telling a very small child that birds flew and puppies did not, no matter how many times you threw them off the roof.

"Ah."

"With my skills..." Dryden muttered, "Sacks of gold this high!"

He downed another shot, and began muttering about Mr. Rat's lack of a poker face. As for Allen, when he wasn't suppressing the triumphant grin that kept threatening to emerge every time Dryden said 'falling profits,' he kept going over the events of the morning in his head; Eries' surprise, his slip of the tongue, his venomous reaction, her slap, and worse, the wounded look in her eyes as she did it. Cringing, he followed Dryden's example and drank. Whatever it was Dryden had ordered for him, it burned. But the aftertaste it left, along with the feeling of his inhibitions slipping away, made the pain quite worth it.

"How did she expect me to react?" he burst out. "She just... sprang him on me! Like that!"

"You know those Aston women, friend. They do things their own way."

"Shut up. I'm not your friend."

Dryden let out a genuine guffaw and slapped him on the back, causing him to spill the rest of his dram of _craythur_. "Sure we are! We're in this together! We both love an Aston, and we're both hopeless scumbags."

"I'd thank you not to compare me with you."

"At least I've never insinuated that my girlfriend wanted to send my sister to her death."

"Shit," Allen muttered. "I did say that, didn't I? I'm such a- wait, girlfriend?"

"Sure!" Dryden said, with an insinuating grin. "And don't think I'm not grateful that you've bowed out of the fight for Millerna."

"She's not- you've got it all wrong!" sputtered Allen. "We have a history, an understanding. We've never- I've never even considered-"

"Hey, hey, don't get indignant, you'll mess up your hair. It was my mistake." Dryden held his hands up in front of him. "Truce?"

Allen glared and considered punching him, but held back. That would only attract attention. The last thing he wanted after laying so much of his private life bare in front of a complete stranger was even more complete strangers gawking at him. Even if it _would_ be justified.

"Let it never be said that chivalry is dead," Allen said, shaking Dryden's hand.

"Excellent! So the next round will be on you, okay?"

"Scumbag."

"That's the spirit! Barman, we'll have another pair of shots."

A pair of heavy, squat glasses were immediately placed in front of them and filled to the brim. Dryden cheerfully proffered one to Allen and raised his own.

"To chivalry!"

"To con-artists."

"To lashing out at people for no good reason!"

In a few seconds their empty glasses were upside down on the bar. They were quickly refilled. The pleasant buzzing sensation that had been building in Allen's ears intensified and began to have the opposite effect. Moaning, he put his head in his hands.

"What have I done? Why am I here? I need to get home, Celena must be worried sick..."

"You've insulted and alienated your dearest friend and ensured that you won't see your son again until he turns thirty," Dryden helpfully supplied.

Allen groaned, feeling that special despair that only drunks and disappointed children get when something has been unjustly taken away from them.

"As to why you're here," Dryden continued, "I invited you. If I recall, it was on the pretext of drowning both our sorrows in the embrace of home-brewed alcohol, though my sorrows, naturally, are far more tragic than yours."

"Worse? What could you be going through that could possibly be worse than what I've done to myself today?"

"I'm separating myself from the woman I love," Dryden replied, staring seriously into the depths of his drink. "And I'm not coming back again until I'm a good enough man for her."

"Knowing you, that could take a lifetime."

"Exactly. So let's make a toast. A real one, this time." Dryden raised his glass, and Allen unsteadily did the same. "Here's to self-improvement in the name of love: may it actually be possible, instead of something storytellers make up to sell books."

Their glasses clinked, the drinks were downed, and Allen dissolved into a coughing fit.

Upon recovery, he sat up and glared at Dryden. "If you tell anyone about this, I'm going to deny all knowledge."

"So will I!" Dryden replied, pushing his hair away from his forehead and winking at Allen. "I couldn't afford to sully my carefully cultivated reputation through such a poor association as this."

"Celebrity."

"Jackass."

"Cheating moneylender!"

"Counterfeit knight."

Allen got to his feet so quickly that the stool he'd been sitting on fell to the floor with a wooden clatter. But his balance was not exactly in true form. His legs felt like they were moving through syrup, and he stumbled on the fallen stool. His hand whipped out to catch the edge of the bar, but he just missed it, and in an ungraceful tangle of limbs, he fell backwards.

"Gotcha!"

Dryden caught him inches from the filthy floor. Still wheeling his arms, Allen ended up flinging them around Dryden's shoulders while the other man steadied him around the waist, hauling him to his feet. Allen panted from the effort. His faces was inches from Dryden's. He could smell fruit on his breath.

"Steady now. This landscape is treacherous."

"Allen?"

"Hitomi!" he shouted, struggling to extract himself from Dryden's helpful grip.

She was standing in the doorway of the bar, wrapped in a thick brown cloak. She looked uncertainly from Allen to Dryden. A second later, Van strode in and stopped in his tracks, blinking confusedly.

Drawing back a little, Hitomi said, "Um... we just wanted something to eat..."

"This isn't what it looks like!!"

Allen finally escaped from Dryden, who was laughing hysterically. He clutched at the bar for support while Allen stumbled towards Hitomi, his arms outstretched.

"No! It's exactly what it looks like!" Dryden insisted through tears of mirth.

The bar was now a swirling blur of color. Allen was nearly there, but he couldn't make out the expression on Hitomi's face; all he could picture was the face of his sister giving him a reproachful stare. He couldn't support his own weight, he couldn't find anywhere that would just lie still and let him keep his balance.

"You've got it all wrong- this isn't- I'm not- I don't even _like_ him- oh, Jichia, I'm going to-"

One foot from Hitomi, Allen tripped, fell to the floor, and passed out.

* * *

The lights in Allen's bedroom were dimmed at the orders of his sister. She didn't want them to bother him when he finally came to from his drunken stupor.

"My mom always used to do this for my dad when he'd come home late from work," Hitomi explained to Celena, who was bending over her handiwork. "She used to say that if it didn't cool him off it'd at least wake him up so he didn't have a hangover in the morning."

"I've never had a hangover before," said Celena.

Van snorted. "You don't want one."

Hitomi shushed them and pointed at Allen. His eyelids were flickering like leaves. "I think he's waking up!" she whispered.

"We'd better not talk, then," Van said.

Hitomi shot him a look, and then bent over Allen. "Hey. Hey. Are you okay?"

He groaned, and rolled over onto his side. The blue sheets of his bed rolled with him, wrapping him up until he resembled a dumpling. He opened and shut his mouth experimentally, and made a face.

"My mouth tastes like the bottom of a boot." Very suddenly, his eyes came into focus, and he sat bolt upright. "What are you doing in my bedroom?"

"Shhh, lie down, you'll make yourself dizzy."

He obliged, albeit reluctantly. In the dim light, he could see Hitomi and Celena sitting on either side of him, and further back, next to the door, stood Van. His arms were folded across his chest and he didn't look at all pleased to be there.

"Where's Dryden?"

Hitomi glanced at Celena, who stifled a giggle, and then turned back to Allen and said, "He wasn't in as bad a shape as you, so he borrowed the inn's coach and said he was going to head to the palace." She bit her lip, and then continued, "I don't think it was a very good idea, but he slipped out while Van was loading you into the carriage. The bartender wasn't happy."

Celena let her laughter out now, causing the corners of Hitomi's mouth to twitch at the corners. Allen groaned and massaged his forehead.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that, Hitomi."

She shook her head and smiled. "You were just drunk. It happens to everyone."

"Not to me."

Hitomi frowned, and Celena shrugged. "Come on," she said, standing up and taking Hitomi's hand, "I need your help in the kitchen."

"Huh?"

Celena tugged her hand. "Just come on."

Reluctantly, Hitomi deposited the washcloth in a basin of water by Allen's bed, and followed Celena out the door, leaving Allen and Van alone. Allen sat up with some difficulty and regarded him. Van stared back. Frowning, Allen began to get out of bed before a crashing wave of nausea forced him back to the mattress, holding his stomach and groaning. Damn that Dryden! If he hadn't plied so much liquor onto him, surely he'd be comfortably asleep by now and not held captive in his own room with a protesting body and a man who seemed fairly likely to challenge him to a duel if he so much as looked at him the wrong way. Allen told himself that the cold feeling creeping into his stomach was only the consequences of drinking too much, and not Van's stony silence.

He coughed. "My apologies for inconveniencing you this evening. You have my thanks for what you've done."

Nothing.

"If you like, you and Hitomi can spend the night in the guest wing on the north side of the house. There are two rooms across the hall from each other there, and I can have Susan turn the beds down for you. Cook can make you anything you like if you're hungry. Are you hungry?"

There was the sound of creaking wood as Van made himself more comfortable against the wall. But still, he didn't answer. Sighing, Allen leaned back onto his headboard and began casting around for a piece of paper and a pen. He usually kept them in the drawer of his nightstand, but someone had apparently tidied it up for him while he was sleeping. It was empty. He looked around the room, but there was nothing in sight; everything was bathed in the half-darkness of a single flickering oil lamp.

Biting back a sigh, Allen turned to Van. "Could I trouble you to ask Hill for some ink and paper? And a quill?"

Van stared for a moment, then lifted himself from the wall and exited, leaving Allen alone for a few seconds before he returned, still scowling. Allen quirked his eyebrows, but didn't ask Van what was bothering him. He was too tired, too dizzy, and above all, too angry at himself to care. Hill came in and fussed over Allen for a bit before handing him his things, then Allen spread the parchment before him, dipped his quill in the inkwell, and began to write, using his nightstand as a surface. This went on for quite sometime before Allen was startled by Van's voice.

"What are you writing?"

A drop of ink slowly spread across the word "acted" until it was completely obscured. Allen frowned.

"A personal letter to Princess Eries."

"Why?"

Allen frowned and blotted the ink. "Because the situation requires it."

He heard Van laugh like a sheet of metal. "What did you do?"

"I did nothing. My intentions were misread, and I seek to correct the situation," Allen said, his head throbbing with every spoken word, "Now would you kindly be quiet and leave me to my writing? You're acting like a child."

It was as if someone had cast a spell and turned all the air in the room to ice. Allen could hear Van's surprised hiss more clearly than the scratching of his quill. He could hear Van's footsteps like he was walking on drums. And even more clearly, he could hear the slow slide of his sword.

Allen raised his eyes to the glint of steel in candlelight. "Didn't I once tell you that drawing to play games was unwise?"

"Shut up," Van spat, and the royal sword in his hand shook. "You're going to listen to me, and then you're going to stop being so damn condescending."

The color rose in Allen's cheeks. "I wasn't-"

"I said shut up," Van growled, and thrust his sword so that Allen had to lean backwards to avoid an unwanted haircut.

Allen narrowed his eyes, but nodded. Van lowered his sword, but he didn't sheath it.

"Ever since I met you, I've admired you."

Allen's mouth fell open before he could stop it. "What?"

"Be quiet!" Van hissed, his sword arm twitching in pent up frustration. "You were good at the sword, better than most of my samurai... you had the respect of your men, even though you're so much younger than most of them. You were always better than me, you could always fight better, more carefully... even Hitomi..."

He trailed off and looked away. His arm hung loosely at his side, leaving him open for attack, and for a split second, Allen considered taking the oil lamp and slamming it against his head.

Van began speaking again before he could act, but the self-revulsion the thought caused was enough to still his itching limbs.

"And you always knew exactly what to say," he continued, glaring at the wall. "No matter how... difficult things got, you were always charming. Considerate. Respectful. A gentleman," he spat the word. Turning to Allen again, he took a step closer and leaned in so that he was inches from Allen's nose. "Dryden told me what you did today, when Hitomi was helping the bartender load you into the carriage."

All the redness that had dug into Allen's anger contorted features vanished and was replaced by an expanse of livid white. "How dare-"

"Shut up!" Van drew back. He gestured with his sword as he spoke. "I'd be disappointed even if Dryden hadn't told me what he did! Even when things were at there worst, you _never_...!" he made an angry noise in his throat. "But putting the blame on Princess Eries? After what she tried to do for you?"

The throbbing in Allen's head intensified into a high, acidic ring. "She sprung my son on me like a bear trap! She didn't even consider my feelings! How I might act, cornered like that! The consequences-"

"She gave you a chance to say goodbye."

Van's voice cracked as he said the last word. This was what gave Allen pause, not the meaning behind the break in Van's suddenly exhausted voice. At least, that's what Allen told himself when he stopped mid-shout.

"People don't-," Van swallowed, fighting something, "They don't get chances like that. And you threw it in her face. Like- like garbage. Like a glass of water."

Allen gripped the sheets. "She had no right," he whispered, his voice harsh.

"Chid looks more like you every day. What do you think will happen when you stand next to each other in a few years time?"

"It's already happened," Allen said, his voice flat. "One of their Barons already knows."

"He's not a fool. And neither is Princess Eries."

"How was I supposed to know-"

"You weren't. You were supposed to trust her."

Allen cringed in frustration and clutched at his forehead, willing the pain away. In the darkness, he could hear Van sheathing his sword, feel the air in the room shift as he moved closer.

"Didn't you ever listen to Hitomi? You have to believe in the people who love you. I thought the man I respected knew that."

"Get out."

"If you weren't so busy feeling sorry for yourself-"

"I said get out!"

Allen tried again to get to his feet, but his legs were still addled from his overenthusiastic drinking session, and he miscalculated his own inertia. He staggered and fell. Van dove, but couldn't catch him in time, and Allen's flailing arm knocked over the inkwell and spilled its contents over the partly finished letter.

He swore, a string of choice words that would have made even Gaddes blush. Van attempted to help him rise. "No! I'll do it myself-" He used the nightstand for leverage, balanced himself, and swore again when he saw his ruined parchment. "Now I'll have to start over."

"It's probably better you did."

Allen sighed, righted the dripping bottle, and pressed the sopping parchment between two blank pages to keep the mess from spreading. Massaging the bridge of his nose, he sat down on the bed. He was so tired.

"Does Hitomi know?" he asked.

A creak of the floorboards. "No."

"Don't tell her."

"She'd forgive you."

"I know. Promise me," he sat up, looked Van in the face. "Please."

Van laid his arms across his chest. He shifted his weight from one side to another, then said, "Sure."

"Thank you." He laid down on his side, facing away from Van. "You've said enough for one night. Please go."

Silence. But then he felt a weight on his shoulder. Van's hand. Then footsteps, the sound of a door opening and closing, and boots echoing down the long, dark hall.

* * *

With thorough, deliberate motions, Celena licked the last bits of pudding off her spoon. Hitomi tried not to stare, but the red flicks of her tongue against the silver spoon had a hypnotic effect, especially in the candlelight of the darkened kitchen. She found herself wondering if Dilandau had eaten like that, like someone starving, but quickly banished the thought from her mind. If anything, the Dilandau she had known would have eaten like he had all the food in the world, and ten thousand servants to serve it to him.

"Thanks for the food," she said, trying to smile. "I needed it."

"You looked like you needed it," said Celena. She lapped up the final bits of dessert from her spoon and placed it in her empty bowl. "And I thought it'd give Allen and Van time to have it out."

Hitomi's eyebrows shot up almost as fast as she did. "What? They're fighting again!?" her own spoon clattered to the floor, and she cursed herself for being so wrapped up in taking care of Allen that she didn't notice Van's darkening mood. "I've got to stop them before they-"

"Shh, sit down. It's not like that. They're not going to come to blows."

"You hope," Hitomi muttered. She didn't leave the room, however. Instead, she shifted her weight from foot to foot, hugging herself. It had always bothered her. The rivalry between Allen and Van. Even when she'd first arrived in Gaea, before she'd become the center of their argument, she could sense something almost feral at the center of their frequent duels. It was the same thing that had made them nearly kill each other on the last day of the war. They'd been doing much better ever since then, but Hitomi would always remember that within both men was the desire to hurt the other as much as possible, just so that one could stand up in the end and say that he was the victor. The better warrior. The better man.

Celena drummed her fingers on the table. "Sometimes brother needs to be yelled at. Van seemed like he wanted to. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you, too."

"Oh? What about?" said Hitomi, still distracted by her thoughts.

"It's serious."

A grin began at the corner of Hitomi's mouth, but it faded when she turned to the girl beside her and saw that she wasn't smiling. At all.

"Sorry," she said, taking her place next to Celena. She could hear her breathing coming quickly. "I'll listen."

"I don't know whether I'm going to see you again before you go."

Hitomi cringed. "I'm sorry. I'll try to see you one more time, but you're right. I'm going to be leaving for Fanelia soon, and I'll probably be really busy until then. Maybe you could come visit me?"

"Maybe. But I want to say something to you, just in case. I didn't want to say this in front of anyone else. After..." she swallowed. "After you talked to me that day, at the tailor shop, before I... no, before _he_ fought the mercenary off, things started to get better. For me. Me and my nightmares. I still dream about him. Every night. But since I talked to you I'm not as afraid anymore. Sati's helped, too. She's the Alarite that I've been talking to lately. But you were the one who told me I was stronger than him."

"You still need him sometimes, don't you?"

"I don't want to need him," Celena said, her voice small. "That's why I want to take sword lessons. I want to be better than him. Sati thinks it's a good idea, too. Brother just needs some time to adjust. But I think it's like you said. Dilandau needs me more than I need him."

She was trembling a little, but she didn't look as lost as Hitomi remembered her that day in the tailor's shop.

"So I'm happy I met you. Please don't stay away forever, okay?"

"I'm happy I met you, too." Hitomi reached across the table and took Celena's hand, giving it a little squeeze. Celena blushed and turned away, but couldn't hide the very shy-looking smile that bloomed across her face.

"I think I'd like to come back, one day," Hitomi continued, "But I can't promise anything. I can't even promise anything to Van." She laughed a little, but didn't smile.

"Then don't!" Celena took Hitomi's hand and pressed it to her chest. "Talk later! You don't have to do anything now."

"But he deserves to know."

"You can tell him when you come back."

"From where?"

Celena's hand jerked away as if Hitomi had turned into a boiling kettle. "Van!" The blush on her face was definite, now.

"How's Allen?" asked Hitomi.

"He's sulking."

Van laid his hand on Hitomi's shoulder and used the other to languidly lift a small, very bright red fruit from the bowl in the center of the table. He inspected it briefly before biting into it. Hitomi could smell it; like honey and melon and strawberries all at once. She wondered what it would taste like in his mouth. Another voice in her mind wondered what the hell her hormones were doing acting up after having such a serious conversation.

"Brother's an idiot," Celena said, getting to her feet, still very pink in the face. "I'd better go tuck him in. Did you two need a ride back to the palace?"

"No. We've got a ride. Hitomi, have you tried this?"

"What is it?"

"Dragon-heart. Here."

Without waiting for her reply, he popped one into her mouth. The skin was pliant, and opened to her teeth like the flesh of a date. It tasted just like it smelled, but nothing could have prepared her for the light, sweet burst of juices that flooded over her tongue and down her throat. She moaned involuntarily. Van smiled briefly at her pleasure and ate another one.

"They're in season right now, in Fanelia. I'll take you to one of the orchards when we get there."

"Take some," Celena said, shoving the entire fruit basket into Van's hands. "Eat them all if you want to. I've already had about fifty."

"Celena, we don't-" Hitomi began.

"No! I insist! It's a parting gift."

Hitomi sighed, then smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you for taking care of me tonight."

"Anytime." Celena leaned back on her heels and cocked her head at them, a half-smile on her face. "I'll get the door for you."

Before she could take Hitomi's arm, Van laid his palm against the small of her back and stood aside for Celena to unlatch the back door. Celena quickly withdrew her hand, giggled nervously, then held the door for the both of them as they stepped through into the warm night air.

"Be careful on the way home!" she called after them as they walked towards their borrowed coach. "The moons are full tonight!"

"Goodnight! Make Allen take it easy tomorrow!" Hitomi yelled back, waving.

The rectangle of light with Celena's silhouette retracted, then disappeared.

* * *

The zipper on Hitomi's pack as it closed was strangely loud her large and empty room. It mingled with the sounds of morning, chattering servants mixed with birdsong and distant shouts as the city awoke. She picked up her bag and shook it a few times to be sure it was secure. Nothing fell out, so she counted her packing as a success. Shouldering her bag, she walked across the room toward the door, but something about her reflection in the mirror over the vanity made her stop.

When was the last time she'd had a haircut? It was getting long in the back. She'd have to get it trimmed when she got home. There were circles under her eyes, too. She traced each bag with the tip of her finger. They were softer than the rest of her skin, like bruises on an apple, and just as dark.

It had been a few days since that night at Allen's. Her visions of the Sorcerer's death hadn't lessened, but they'd become more bearable, even if they cost her sleep. She wished that he'd been able to spend the night with her like he used to, but Merle had been right. Ever since they'd taken things further, it was difficult not to race to the finish line, as it were. Unless they wanted to confirm Merle's accusations, sleeping apart wasn't only wise, it was necessary. Things had also become awkward with the palace staff since the attack. It seemed to Hitomi that there was always someone waiting helpfully around every corner, ready to assist her with anything she could possibly need or want at the moment. There were even a few ladies-in-waiting darning socks outside her door at midnight. Unless she wanted to scale the palace walls, there was no way for her to sneak into Van's room unnoticed. And the price of being noticed was too high. It wasn't just her reputation at stake.

Not that Van hadn't been spending as much time with her as he could. When he wasn't with Rhum and his men making preparations for the journey to Fanelia, he was walking with Hitomi around the city, listening to her talk about whatever came to mind, telling her stories, or sitting with her until she fell asleep. His presence had been more comforting than she was able to admit. Without him, she was sure that she wouldn't have left her room at all.

But she missed their nights together.

She shook her head. Thoughts like that would just pull her mind around in anxious circles until she was either sobbing on the bed or going for another all-day no-food run. She pulled away from the mirror and tried to think of something else.

Allen. She'd hoped to spend more time with him before she left, but she hadn't seen a hint of him since the disaster that was the ball. It seemed that most of her friends had drawn into themselves. Merle had been acting distracted and distant, Eries hadn't left the council chambers since the palace had been attacked, Celena was wherever Allen had gone to, even Dryden had vanished into his preparations to set off across Gaea. Now that she was headed out the door and down the stairs, on her way to meet Van and the others, it occurred to her that she wasn't likely to see him again.

_No_. Think about something else.

A few days ago, Millerna had invited Hitomi to her room for lunch. Hitomi had thought about refusing, but Van, who'd stopped by her room to check on her, glared at her until she got out of bed and went.

She was glad she'd gone; it had been a wonderful meal, the first she'd had since before the ball that felt welcome in her stomach. Millerna had been a great distraction, chattering on about her plans for her winter wardrobe, the progress of her medical studies, the various rumors she'd heard from the servants about what the crew of the Crusade had been up to. After the sandwiches had been consumed and the dessert plates whisked away, Hitomi asked about Allen.

Millerna told her.

A piece of ice settled in Hitomi's drink. She tucked bit of hair behind one ear and frowned. "She really hit him?"

"Yes. And don't you dare say he didn't deserve it," Millerna said, her eyes flashing.

"No..." Hitomi said, thinking back to the time she'd slapped Van. "But he must have been hurting, too. What if that Baron says something?"

"Eries says he won't."

"Did Allen know that?"

Millerna looked away and shrugged. Though she was suspicious that Allen most likely _didn't_ know his son was safe, she sensed that it was time to change the subject.

"How is she? Eries, I mean."

"Oh, she's fine. She said that she's used to having these kinds of fights with Allen, and that when he's ready to talk to her, he'll talk to her again. Did you know that they've been friends since they were fourteen, Hitomi?"

"No," Hitomi lied. She thought it would make things awkward to admit just how much she'd learned from the visions she had the night of that disastrous dinner at the Schezar estate.

_Besides_, she thought, _Millerna seems to be enjoying being the one in the know for a change._

"That's right," Millerna said with a slightly smug smile. "I was so surprised when I found out. Those two never talk about anything involving themselves unless you go at them with a sword."

A smile twitched at the corners of Hitomi's mouth. "Sounds like Van."

"You think everything sounds like Van."

"Eh?" she wasn't aware that she'd said that aloud. "No I don't!"

"You're blushing."

Mortified, Hitomi covered her face with her hands and bent over as if she were attempting to hide under the table. Millerna giggled and made her friend blush even harder.

"I'm jealous of you two. What you have... it only happens in stories. You're really lucky."

Hitomi let her hands slip from her face. She couldn't meet Millerna's gaze. Instead, she stared at the table, her eyes half lidded.

"Yeah. I guess we are."

Millerna smiled like she was cringing, reached across the table, and took her friend's hand. They sat like that for a long time. When Hitomi picked up her napkin and wiped her eyes, Millerna pretended not to see.

Back in the present, Hitomi ran her hand against the rail of the grand staircase, relishing in the softness of the well-worn stone. She stepped into the huge entrance hall, with its light tiles every color of the rainbow, and a pair of be-wigged men bowed to her as she adjusted the shoulder strap on her bag. Did she forget anything? No; Celena's gifts were tucked inside, her cards were in their customary pocket, and her pendant was safely around her neck. Everything else could be counted as a minimal loss.

The doors of the palace opened before her for the last time. She stepped out into the bright morning.


	27. Gloria

I cut the hot kissing scene out, Kelly! Sorry! Don't worry, though, because I'm saving it for the next chapter. It's too hot to cut entirely. Instead, I used the first scene I ever wrote for this story, which has been sitting in the notepad file I use to write since 2006.

I can't believe I've come this far. Thank you for reading.

* * *

"I will carve three figures on your heart:

one of them will be me as a boy,

one of them will be me,

and one of them will be me watching you run."

-You are a Runner and I am My Father's Son, by Wolf Parade

* * *

**Chapter 27 – Gloria**

"_Allen."_

_Van took one more step and Allen, Celena, and Hitomi emerged before him from the fog as if they'd been suddenly thrust through a wall. The girls ignored him, clutching each other and whispering, but Allen smiled and bowed as if he'd been waiting for Van to appear at this spot all his life. _

"_Van. We've come to see you and Hitomi off. I hope that we haven't inconvenienced you."_

"_It's fine," he replied, shifting his stance, trying not to show that he was still uncomfortable with the idea of Allen being anywhere near Hitomi unsupervised. _

"_Excellent," said Allen with a smile. "Do you have time to spare? I'd like a quick word." _

"_Sure. Hitomi, I'll be right back."_

_She smiled at him, and it was like the sunrise. "See you then." _

_The two young men walked some distance, just enough that they fog swallowed the girls from sight and threw a damp cloth over their words. When they stopped, Van tried to appear relaxed, but left his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He should have known that Allen wouldn't miss something like that; the older man let his eyes move from Van's face to his sword and back again, then smiled. Van felt somehow like he'd been chastised. _

"_When I asked Hitomi to marry me," he began, which made Van loosen his grip in surprise, "She said that she needed time to think it over. It was her way of saying, perhaps, that there was something else in her heart. Or someone, rather, though she was too confused to realize it." _

_Van frowned. Hearing from his former rival how obvious it was that the girl he loved was in love with him all along was not something he cared to discuss. _

_Allen continued. "You and I had a conversation on the Crusade the next day. I promised to protect her at the cost of my life. Do you remember that?"_

"_Of course," replied Van, his brows furrowing. What was the point of all this? _

"_No matter what happens, I intend to keep that promise. So know this: whatever Hitomi feels, whatever she says, whatever she does, she loves you. Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't try to keep her in a cage. When it's time, let her go. She'll come back." _

_Narrowing his eyes, Van growled. "You don't know that."_

"_Yes. I do." _

"_How!?" he spat. _

"_Because the most important person to her in the world is here," he replied with an unreadable smile. "You."_

_

* * *

_

Hitomi was dreaming.

In her dream, she saw patterns of gold and green light dance across a swiftly-moving river. She was floating with them, her feet just above the water. Ahead, the river forked, and she could hear a waterfall. She had to choose which way to go, but there was someone in front of her, blocking her view, and she couldn't see what was ahead. She knew if she chose the wrong fork that she'd go over the falls and die. All she saw was green and gold and the bright white sand of the riverbed, and the dark shape before her. All she heard was the sound of rushing water, like a distant rumble of thunder.

"Hey. Hitomi."

An annoying voice cut into her consciousness, and she groaned. It seemed to be coming from all directions at once.

"Wake up, idiot!"

Slowly, a pink shape came into focus as Hitomi fought her way out of her dream.

"Merle," she groaned, "I was dreaming."

"Who cares? You'll miss breakfast," she primly said, and bounded away.

Hitomi sat up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and looked around.

They were in a brightly sunlit glen on the other side of the Chatal Mountains, nearly at the door to Fanelia. It had taken them almost a week to get that far. Traveling through a mountain range on the backs of oversized yaks wasn't exactly a quick and convenient affair, as Hitomi had quickly noticed. Every few hours they had to stop to tend to the great animal's hooves, to be sure they hadn't suffered any kind of injuries caused by loose rocks, burrs, or other detritus of the road. If one of the _iyakla_ became hurt enough that it couldn't continue, Van had explained to her the first time they made one of their stops, the wolf-men would lose both their cargo and their means of transport. Some cargo could be saved on the backs of other _iyakla_, but the real loss would be the beasts. The trading trips would be impossible without them.

_"What about airships?" she'd said. "Asturia has them. Why not Fanelia?"_

_Van kicked a stone down the cliff they'd been traveling on, which splashed into the river below. "Because we always had what we needed. Now... I don't know. Things are going to change."_

She could see Rhum and the others, including Merle, who was chasing the cat-man Eiru's daughters around the morning cookfire, all eating under one of the great trees a good distance away from where they'd tethered the animal. Van was there too, leaning back on a tree trunk with a piece of grass between his teeth. She got to her feet and walked to them, waving. The morning wind stirred her hair.

* * *

The letter Millerna had received this morning was currently smoldering in the fireplace. She'd wanted to throw it dramatically into the flames, as she'd read in countless novels unsuitable for ladies of her station, but it was still very hot in Asturia so she'd had to take a candle to it and throw it in the grate. This roundabout solution wasn't at all satisfying. She could still see what the letter had said when she closed her eyes.

_Princess-_

_Dryden Fassa is scheduled to leave early tomorrow morning. Take your chances while you can._

_-M_.

Who did this? Who had acted so far above his station that he thought that she, the very _ex_-wife of the former "Prince Regent," would lower herself to seek _him_ out, when it should be _him_ crawling back to her and begging for forgiveness? Her chest heaved at the thought of it. Whoever sent that letter was going to be damned sorry that he'd sent it to her. And she knew just where to go to find him.

Angry color high in her cheeks, she slammed the door to her room open and marched through the hallways, startling several chambermaids into nearby closets. Her heels clicked authoritatively on the stairs as she dodged butlers, men-of-all-work, valets, and ladies-in-waiting alike. Several of them exchanged significant glances at this display. It was rare for a woman of Millerna's rank to take the Servants' Stairs, and when it happened, it usually spelled 'affair.' But Millerna was in too heightened a mood to pay them any attention. She arrived at her destination, and loudly knocked, completely ignoring the sputtering lady-in-waiting who begged her to be seated so she could properly announce the arrival of the Third Princess.

"Eries!" she shouted. "Let me in!"

She stopped pounding on the door and stood with arms folded, glaring at the world.

And stood there.

The Lady was wringing her hands. "Please, Princess, if you would just allow me to-"

Millerna was very close to stomping her foot. She cut the girl off with another series of knocks and kept at it until the door was abruptly opened in her face. Before her, his usually smiling mouth turned down in a frown, stood Dryden.

She nearly knocked over the Lady in an attempt to step away as quickly as possible. Suddenly her determination to wrench information out of Eries was very unimportant.

"Oh," she breathed, her hands to her lips. "If I'd have known you were-"

He waved his hand, swept away her explanation. "I understand. I shouldn't have taken so much time to finish things with your sister when I heard you knock. Please."

Still formal, he bowed, held the door for her.

"Dryden," she said, pleadingly.

He didn't look up. "Princess."

Anger returning to her in a fresh wave, she stuck her nose in the air, picked up her skirts, and stalked through the door. It shut behind her like a tomb.

Across the room, Eries gazed coolly up at her, her gloved hands folded before her on her desk. There were a few papers sitting in a neat pile within arm's reach, and an inkpot stood open on her left, the quill still resting within it.

"It's a rare thing that you become so agitated that you forget the rules of basic propriety, Millerna."

"Oh, stop it. I'm your sister, remember? Not a courtier."

She flopped down on the straight-backed chair that usually stood in front of her sister's desk. It was still warm.

"Be that as it may, I had a guest."

Millerna glared at her. "And what was he doing here?"

The corners of Eries' mouth twitched, and she wondered what she'd done that was so funny.

"His affairs are his business. And I use both meanings when I say that. Now. What can I do for you?"

With many sighs and hand gestures to emphasize her point, Millerna explained the letter she'd received that morning.

"...and I was hoping you could help me figure out who sent the thing," she finished.

Eries held out her hand. Millerna frowned, not understanding.

"Can I see it?" she clarified.

"Um," said Millerna, going red, "I burnt it."

With a half-exasperated, half-fond sigh, Eries leaned back in her chair. She was definitely smiling now. Millerna's old resentment at being treated like a child rose inside her.

"Don't laugh at me!"

"I'm sorry," said her sister, the smile fading. "I didn't laugh."

Millerna hugged herself and looked away, still a little upset. "It's fine. Why did you need it, anyway?"

"There are many ways to discover the sender of an anonymous letter," she explained, steepling her fingers."Unfortunately, most of them require the letter to be present. Handwriting, what kind of paper and ink used, how it was delivered, the signature, all those are very useful in the identification process. Based on the information you gave me, I can only speculate. How was it signed?"

"Just an initial. 'M.'"

There was a short pause, in which Eries appeared to be considering something. Millerna leaned forward, expectant.

"Who do you think sent it?" she finally asked, her voice even.

Millerna colored. "I don't know! That's why I'm asking you!"

"But you have a suspicion."

Frowning, Millerna folded her arms and flopped moodily into the back of her chair. "It wasn't Dryden."

"No. He's far too direct to send an anonymous note."

Despite herself, the corners of Millerna's mouth twitched, and she nearly smiled. 'Direct' wasn't precisely the word she'd have chosen, but it described Dryden well enough. No matter how teasing or playful he was being, he wasn't one to hide the truth. If he'd wanted her to see him off, he'd have asked.

She frowned. "I think it was Meiden Fassa. He's been the architect of this marriage from the beginning, and now that it's collapsed in front of him, he's doing whatever he thinks of to save it. It makes sense."

"It certainly wouldn't be outside Meiden's character," Eries conceded with a respectful nod.

"But..."

"But?"

"I don't know! I don't like it. It doesn't feel right. I wish the sender had just signed it, it's not as if I'd have him thrown in the dungeon for it. Why doesn't it feel right?"

Unconsciously, she stuck out her lower lip, which made her look all the more girlish and had the added benefit of causing ever man (and some women) in a visual radius to fall in love with her on the spot. As it was, the only person in the room was her sister, so the effect was wasted.

"Perhaps because it isn't right."

"I don't know what to do."

Eries was not a hugging person. Millerna wished that she was sometimes. What she wanted more than anything in the world was for someone to hold her and tell her what it was she was supposed to do. She had hoped that Eries would at least fill the latter half of that desire, but instead, she'd steepled her hands in front of her face and asked Millerna what she thought the correct decision was.

"Think about it for a while longer," she said. "Then act. You're a strong, capable woman, Millerna. You'll know what has to be done when the time comes."

"But what if I'm too late?"

"You won't be."

* * *

Late that afternoon, when the convoy was carefully threading its way down the western slope of the mountains, Van leapt off his mount and walked into the forest. Much to Hitomi's bewilderment, Rhum didn't stop the great _iyakla_ to await his King's return. He merely gave a great barking laugh, flicked his whip, and yelled, "Ha!" The _iyakla_ bellowed as a group and kept walking.

"Why aren't they stopping?" asked Hitomi. From the high saddle, she had a clear view of Van as he disappeared into a thick clump of trees, and of the laughing group of wolf-men who walked clear past him without so much as a backwards glance.

Merle flicked her ears. "You really don't understand anything yet, do you?"

Hitomi glared at Merle until the catgirl gave in and sighed. She gestured at the long line of wolf-men and beasts. "If we slow down just because Van-Sama wants to take a walk, we'll lose time. He knows that. Rhum and the pack know that. Looks like you're the only one who doesn't."

"Excuse me for asking," Hitomi huffed.

"City mouse."

"Barn cat."

Merle grinned, and her long, thorn-like teeth glinted in the sun. Hitomi blinked, and then burst out laughing. Merle followed suit.

"I'll never understand women," one of the nearby wolf-men muttered to his comrade.

"You'll get used to stuff here one day," said Merle. "_Then_ you won't bother me every five seconds with inane questions."

Hitomi shrugged"I don't know if I'll have time to get used to things."

"Of course you'll have time!" Merle snapped, frowning. "What do you think's gonna happen when we get to Fanelia, you're gonna drop dead?"

"You know," Hitomi said, slowly, "I haven't really... thought about it. I can't really cook or build or anything. Do you think Fanelia needs a running coach? I could probably start a team and arrange a few games while I'm here."

"But it's so _obvious_."

"What's obvious?"

"Tch! If _you_ don't know, _I'm_ not going to tell you," she said, and primly washed her face with her paw.

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Merle."

"You'll see," she teased in a sing-song voice.

Rhum's voice boomed across the trail. "Whoa!"

The great procession came to a halt. Hitomi looked up to see that they'd reached the bottom of the mountain, and had come to rest on a wide, green patch of land surrounded on two sides by thick forests. Some of the trees were very tall, and dusted even in the late summer with huge white flowers that gave off a sweet, citrusy scent. The _iyakla_ were already heading towards them. One stood on its hind legs to pull of one of the flowers. Hitomi watched as it chewed, its eyes half-closed in bovine contentment.

"Better help them unload," said Merle, stretching as she got to her feet.

"Okay," she replied, and followed Merle to the great clearing, where the wolfmen were already passing packages of dried meat and cookware from hand to hand, and exchanging stories about what they did during the war.

* * *

_The morning was unseasonably foggy. Celena, from her perch on Allen's shoulders, kept leaning over, straining to see further down the obscured road. If he hadn't spent so many years honing his balance, he was certain he'd have ended up face-down on the cobblestones the first time she jerked forward from excitement. _

_"I see them!" she shouted, and scrambled down, kicking his ribs in the process. "Hitomi! Hitomi!" _

_"Celena!" came her delighted cry. _

_The two girls embraced. Rubbing his ribs, Allen approached them and bowed as they broke apart. _

_"You mustn't leave us without a farewell, Hitomi." _

_"Yeah," interjected Celena. "It's rude."_

_She laughed, then sighed. "I already said goodbye to Millerna back at the palace. You're not going to make me say goodbye twice, are you?"_

_"I'm afraid I am. I'd have never forgiven myself otherwise."_

Allen's fingers twitched around his teacup. Sunlight bloomed over him, and he looked up from the papers he hadn't really been reading. Over the treeline, the sun had broken from behind the clouds, and he could hear shouts of delighted laughter as Celena ran about with Sati. She'd said they were going to play tag, or hide the slipper; he'd forgotten. They'd been out all morning. The high collar on his shirt chafed at his neck; he tugged at it with a crooked finger and it came undone.

_She smiled up at him, beautiful as the day he saw her in the rain._

_"You have to promise to come back," Celena was saying, and Hitomi turned to her, her face flushed with guilt or nerves. _

_"Celena," she said, her voice low with the effort to be gentle. "Please don't ask me to promise something like that." _

_Celena squared Hitomi with her determined gaze. "I don't care. I want you to come back."_

_Allen, placed his hand on her shoulder. "Celena, You're making her uncomfortable." _

_"No! No, not at all! Please, don't misunderstand me! I want to come back, I really do! I'll miss this place so much. I'll miss_ you," _Hitomi choked a little on that last word, and Allen could tell she was close to tears. He reached for her, as if to take her in his arms, then stopped, his arm drooping awkwardly as she looked up at him with startled eyes._

The latch on the window stuck, and he had to fight with it for a few seconds before it gave under his persistent tugging. The cool breeze, pushed up the mountainside by the weight of the sea, flowed over his face, and he sighed in relief. He could hear Celena's shrieks of delight far more clearly now. He closed his eyes, and let himself get lost in the wind.

_Around them, he could hear the sound of several great beasts breathing, but even their shapes were erased to amorphous blurs, and the voices of the joking Fanelian wolf-men sounded strangely muffled. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the click of approaching boots on stone._

_"I'll miss all of you," she whispered. "But I have to go. Please understand. I have to go home. But I don't know if I'll ever be able to come back."_

_"I'm sorry," squeaked Celena, as she enveloped Hitomi in another hug. "I'm acting like an idiot. I just don't want you to leave when I've just gotten to know you."_

_"It doesn't matter how far away we are from each other. If we keep each other in our thoughts, we'll be together. That's how it works."_

_"Then I'll think of you every day," Celena declared. _

_It was a child's promise, Allen thought, one that she would keep for a while but forget in time. He, on the other hand, would think of her every time it rained._

Someone turned the handle to the door, snapping him out of his reverie. He fought the urge to fall into a defensive stance that he'd developed during the war, and instead forced himself to appear relaxed and unconcerned enough to not bother turning around.

"Eries," he said. "What are you doing here?"

There was a noise of something heavy being set down on his desk, then a dark, quiet laugh. "A chivalrous greeting. Can't I visit an old friend without an ulterior motive?"

"No."

"Hm," she replied, her tone amused. "Losing yourself in memories again?"

"I could never lie to you."

He could hear her shuffle the papers on his desk. He imagined that she was inspecting them for errors in his math. Her long, pale hair would be brushing the edges of the documents and she would be tucking it behind her ears, behind those gold cuffs she wore.

"It's a bad habit, Allen. If you look to the past too often you'll lose sight of the future."

His knuckles grew white from gripping the windowpane too hard.

"It's been a week, Allen," she said, and he felt her warm presence behind him, just far enough that she wasn't touching him. "Celena's worried about you."

"And you?"

She paused, and he imagined her cocking her head to the side in consideration. "No."

He laughed. "Liar."

"As you said," she replied, taking his arm, "Lying doesn't suit us. Were you thinking about Hitomi?"

"Yes. It's strange; I expected to miss her, but not as much as this. You would think I'd be used to people leaving my life by now," he dryly added.

"If I didn't know you so well, I'd tell you to stop feeling sorry for yourself."

"It's lucky for me you do. There's no one else for me, really."

He leaned his cheek against the top of her head. Her hair was cool and soft. Unable to resist, he idly took the end of one strand in his hand and rolled it between his fingers.

"I'm sorry, Eries."

"I know."

"When will I learn," he said without irony, "That you always have my best interests at heart?"

There was that small laugh of hers. "Perhaps around the time I start letting you in. Can you forgive me? I was impatient with you. I treated you like a child."

He dropped her hair. "It wasn't any more than I deserved."

"Hm. I suppose if I tried to argue with you, you'd only argue back, so let's pretend that I disagreed with you, you made a compelling case for your guilt, and I hadn't the heart to argue back. This way we can both feel we've made an effort to be the guilty party, and no one has to feel awkward."

He looked down at her, and she was smiling.

"Anything," he said.

Lightly, she caressed his cheek, smiled, and cocked her head to the side. "Good. Now. Judging from the shrieks outside, I think it's time to check on Celena. Do you have anything planned for dinner tonight? If not, there's a recipe I'd like to give to your cook-"

As she turned to leave, he caught her hand in his, and she stopped speaking mid-sentence. Her face was once again hidden from view, but the stiffness in her posture and the sudden cessation of breathing told him that his action had come as a surprise. He took a step forward, and, further entwining his fingers with hers, lightly placed his other hand around her waist. They only barely touched, but their proximity was enough to cause all the blood to rush to his head.

"Allen, what are you doing?" she whispered.

He could feel her trembling. Instead of answering, he pulled her to him, and let his face rest in her loose, soft hair. Slowly, he brushed her hair away from her neck, loving the way she involuntarily turned it toward him. Why had he not done this before? In all the years they'd been together, fought with one another, protected one another, how had they denied themselves this? When he kissed her, it felt like coming home.

When they were very young, before he'd fallen in love with Marlene and everything that followed, they'd taken a walk on the palace grounds with Millerna in tow. He could see her now, so small, so eager to climb trees and chase animals and shout, though even then she'd insisted on wearing dresses so frilly and easily ripped that being a tomboy was a bit more challenging than it usually was. That day, she'd caught a jade bright frog, and presented it to her sister like a trophy.

"You have to kiss it," she insisted, and lifted it closer to Eries' face.

She leaned back, clearly disgusted. "Why would I do that? It's _slimy_. You kiss it."

"But a princess has to kiss it or it won't turn into a prince!"

"You're a princess, you kiss it."

"It has to be a _grown-up_ princess," she patiently explained, and once again proffered the frog.

"Absolutely not."

Millerna sighed, and finally lowered the struggling frog. "Fine. But it's only 'cause you haven't kissed anyone before anyway."

With that parting shot, she skipped off, leaving Eries looking absolutely horrified.

"You didn't hear that," she deadpanned.

Allen cocked his head and grinned at her. "Do my ears deceive me? Has the great, exalted Princess Eries Aria Aston never sullied her royal lips with those of mere mortals?"

"Oh shut up."

She stuck her nose in the air and crossed her arms, which only served to encourage him.

"I'm surprised. Everyone's kissed someone by the time they're your age. Even your little sister's kissed Lord Asphoria's son."

"How many people have you kissed, then?" she asked, blushing hotly, but her nose still high and imperious.

Feeling reckless, he leaned in, put his arm around her, and said, "One."

Her lips were so close he could feel their heat on his skin. But before he could make contact, she shrieked and shoved him so hard that he fell off the log they'd been sitting astride.

"Don't you dare," she seethed, her cheeks flaming crimson, "Don't you ever tease me like that again, Allen Schezar! Millerna! Millerna, where are you!? We're going home!"

He vehemently pulled a fistful of grass from his hair and threw it to the ground, shouting after her, "Can't you take a joke!?"

Though the force of his words made her stumble as she ran, he only half believed what he said. And now, with her body pressed to his, he knew for certain that he'd lied that day, and wanted to spend as much time as she'd let him making it up to her. Turning away from memories, he kissed her again, and she let out a long, slow sigh.

"You have a habit of replacing people in your life, Allen," she murmured. "Please. Don't replace Hitomi with me."

It was more effective than shoving him off a log, or into a fountain of cold water. He withdrew, letting his hand slide down her arm until it joined hers.

"I apologize, Princess," he said, all formality.

She turned to look at him, and there were tears in her eyes. This threw him off for a moment, enough that he didn't pull his hand away when she held it to her chest.

"Please, Allen. Please, let's not. It's too soon."

"You're right, of course," he assented, bowing his head.

His hand easily slipped from hers. Silence stretched between them like a sea of glass. The sun was setting now, and the clear orange light that shone through the window made her hair bright as fire. She had her hand on his desk, as if for support. Part of him wanted to hold her again, and part of him wanted to walk away, to leave her standing there trying to stop herself from falling.

"Please understand," she said, not looking at him, "I want this. You don't know how long I've wanted this. But you and I both know that it's not the right time. Not with the Kingdom as it is now... not with Chid looking more like you every day."

"The right time," he said vehemently. "When is it ever going to be the right time?"

She hugged herself, unable to answer him. He looked at her for a moment, then, without another word, began to walk away.

"I do love you," she whispered.

He stopped in his tracks, his hand on the doorframe.

"Please believe that."

"I do," he said. "Thank you."

She leaned into his back, pressing her face and hands against him. She wasn't as warm as he had been expecting, but cool and distant-feeling as starlight. He turned around and embraced her as hard as he could. They folded together like a pair of wings.

They stood like that until Celena called them to dinner, and the setting sun had given way to twilight.

* * *

"Hitomi."

She looked up from the middle of the game she'd been playing with Merle and the twins by the firelight to see Van standing over her. She found herself smoothing her skirt, and blushed without the faintest idea why.

"Could you come with me for a while? I want to show you something."

She glanced at Merle, who was looking stern. "It's getting pretty late, Van."

"I know," he said, holding out his hand to her. "Come with me."

"Fine, fine," growled Merle. "Stay up all night. _I_ don't care. I'll see you when you get back."

Ears back, she returned to the game. The two girls looked at each other and giggled.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Hitomi assured her, but Merle flicked her ears and refused to acknowledge that she'd spoken.

"What's with her?" asked Hitomi, as soon as she and Van were out of earshot.

He grabbed her arm to help her keep balance as she climbed down an embankment that led to a thicket of trees. "She's jealous."

Guilt washed through her like water. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Merle conversing merrily with the girls. She said something that caused them to clutch each other laughing. From a distance, she certainly seemed to be happy.

"I didn't know she still felt that way. Do you think I should say something?"

"No. Don't worry about it."

He tugged at her hand. Reluctantly, she followed. "Where are we going?"

"Over there," he said, pointing.

She took that to mean, 'it's a surprise,' and stopped asking questions in favor of enjoying the scenery. The trees grew close together here. He didn't lead her far into the them; just along a path made by the passage of some animal, very thin and barely visible under the blanket of night. She inhaled, relishing the scent of moss, water, and decaying leaves. It reminded her painfully of being home in Kamakura, up in the mountain near the temple where she'd first left Earth. Her head brushed against a spider web, which stuck to her head and flowed behind her like gossamer.

Van let go of her hand and used both of his to push a thicket aside. When she stepped through, she gasped.

Several growing, red trees grew up the rocky mountain face. Very near the trees was a long, cool-looking expanse of water that fed into a small waterfall. Though it was very dark, the light of the moons reflected off the water, making the trees' colors shine bright as day. Drawing closer, she discovered that they weren't actually red, but heavily fruited with hundreds of small, jewel-bight fruits. The smell was almost overpowering. It was like walking into a wall of sweet, light citrus.

"They're beautiful, Van. Are we already in Fanelia?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. We're close, though."

"They look delicious."

She touched one. The skin was taut with juice.

"I saw some dragon-hearts when we passed here." He reached up to pick a pair of the fruits, then deposited one in her outstretched hand. "I want to do something with you."

Her heart skipped a few beats. "Wh-what is it?"

"The dragon-heart means a lot to Fanelia. We use it in a lot of ceremonial things. When the heir to the throne is born, one of the priests runs the juice along the child's teeth to ensure bravery and a long life, and when a child comes of age, he and his family drink the fruit's wine for courage and prosperity. It's also used in our weddings."

That last sentence, tacked on like a casual afterthought, made Hitomi's stomach to a backflip. The dragon-heart fell from her hand.

"What did you say?"

"I said it's used in our marriage ceremonies. I want to marry you, Hitomi."

She clutched her necklace and stepped backwards, nearly tripping. It was suddenly very hard to breathe.

"You- you can't ask me that!" she cried.

He closed the distance between them. "Why not? I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"I love you, too," she said, feeling herself start to cry. "But I can't marry you! I'm not ready to get married yet. It's too soon."

"Allen asked you and you said you'd think about it," he pointed out, his brows furrowed in frustration.

She shook her head. "That was different!"

He waved his arm like a sword in emphasis. "How was it different!?"

"He surprised me! I was so confused that I didn't know what to say! The war was so awful then, and I was so worried about you both all the time and so sick of the fighting that I couldn't think! And I couldn't just say no when he was about to leave for war! He could have died! I spent every day _praying_ that you'd both make it back alive."

"So you'd have said yes if he came back?" he snarled, and the look on his face was so venomous that he reminded her of the days after Fanelia burned, when he was nothing but angry, bitter, and in pain.

"No! You don't understand! I didn't love him like I-" she hiccuped, and the tears finally spilled down her face. "Like I love you."

His entire stance changed when she said that; his shoulders sagged, and his eyes, so fierce a moment ago, refocused. He tried to cup her face in his palm, but she jerked away.

"It doesn't matter what I would have said," she sobbed, angry now. "You don't have a right to ask me something like that. Why should I have to compare what I felt for Allen to what I feel for you? It's not a competition! I'm not some prize that you won. You don't marry someone for that kind of reason."

"That's not what I meant." He reached for her again, laid his hand on her shoulder. "I just don't want to lose you."

A sob escaped her throat. "You're not going to lose me! I'm not going to stop loving you when I go home, Van."

"But you won't be able to touch me, or talk to me. When you wake up in the morning, I won't be there. You're going to become different every day, and I won't get to see you change. I won't get to change with you. Then you really won't know me." His hand dropped from her shoulder, and he turned away. "How can you love someone you don't even know anymore?"

Her heart broke. "How can you say that? As long as we think of each other, as long as we're together in our thoughts, it'll be like we're standing in the same place."

"But you won't be here," he said, talking to the ground. "I'll be alone again."

She wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself to his back. Between them, the necklace hung, and dug into both their bodies like a pebble.

"No matter what happens. No matter where I am, or where you are. You'll never be alone. We can see through each other's eyes, remember?"

"Don't go," he muttered, clutching her hands like a drowning man.

"I have to," she said, hugging him as hard as she could. "I have to go home. I miss my family. I miss my friends. Yukari. Amano. I have to have a chance to have my own life back. It's just like with you and Fanelia."

"What if you can't come back?"

"Then I'll think about you every day," she replied, and a few more tears slid down her cheeks. "Even when I'm as old as my grandmother. I'll never forget you. How could I? I love you."

He disengaged himself from her grasp and turned towards her. Her hands rested loosely in his. "I don't want to go the rest of my life without seeing you again."

"But you can't ask me to abandon my life. I have a home. I have a family. I have to go back."

"I know," he said, softly, and the way he looked at her made her heart twist inside her.

"If I can," she said, touching his face. "If there's a way, I'll find a way to be with you. But it has to be a decision I make for myself. Give me time to make that choice."

He pressed her hand to his face. "You don't know how much I'll miss you."

"Yes," she said, raising her eyes to his. "I do."

She gripped the back of his shirt and pulled him to her, and they collided, each molding themselves to the other's body. It was amazing how well they fit together. For a few moments, they stood there, listening to the other's rapid breathing, until Van let out a soft, strangled groan that made Hitomi's knees buckle. They both sank to the ground without slackening their grip. She began to sob now in earnest, not because of anything Van said, not because of confusion or insecurity or anger, but out of loss, and love. Van didn't tell her to stop. He simply held her tighter, and mourned with her.

An hour passed that way until his voice rumbled gently through her slack body. "What do you miss about you home?"

The sudden question surprised her. She had been close to falling asleep, curled up with Van after crying herself dry, and had to think for a moment before she was able to answer. It was probably because she was sleep-addled, but the first thing that popped into her head was an image of her mother placing a tray of fish, rice, and miso soup in front of her as she did every morning before school. How long had it been since she'd eaten a real breakfast? Months? She couldn't remember.

"Well. The food, mostly."

Van laughed a little at that.

"Stop that! I'm not a glutton," she said defensively.

"I've seen you drink vino."

"That's different! That was good! Remember that night we ran away from Asturia? And we had to eat those giant bugs in the woods? Oh, that was so gross."

"You didn't even try one. They aren't so bad."

"It was bad for me. I wasn't used to it."

Van smiled again. "I wasn't raised on bugs either, you know."

"Well... you were used to... roughing it. I wasn't. Not yet. God, when I went to sleep that night I dreamed about takoyaki."

"Takoyaki?"

"Fried dumpling with octopus inside."

"What's an octopus?"

"It's a sea animal with eight tentacles."

Van raised his eyebrows at her. "And you had a problem with eating bugs?"

"It's not the same!"

"Sorry," Van said, smiling at her indignation. "Tell me more about your home."

"Well," she said, annoyed but slightly placated, "There's a great little takoyaki place by my school. Really good takoyaki, they make it right there and I think they've got to catch the octopus fresh. I don't really know. I miss the festivals. The shrines in Kamakura on the sea shore. My school, Kamakura-Kita. When my little brother calls me 'sister,' if he isn't mouthing off to me."

Van began lightly touching her right arm, his fingers tracing up to her elbow and to the back of her hand, back and forth. His fingertips were warm and slightly rough. Hitomi found it very hard to concentrate.

"M- my father's bad jokes. My mom. I can always tell my mom whatever I'm feeling, and she understands. Really hot baths. My room. My- my bed." Her thoughts started wandering toward other things involving beds as Van rested his hand on her upper arm and squeezed just a little.

She looked up at him. His hair hung away from his dark eyes. He lifted his hand and touched her cheek. There was no pink tinge to his face this time.

"Hitomi," he said, and kissed her.

He gripped the small of her back and pulled her closer, kissing her as he'd never kissed her before, as if he wanted to become a part of her body with the force of his passion. She fell between his legs, her rear in the air and her skirt riding high on her thighs. It wasn't long before his free hand was on the crook of her knee, moving in gentle circles as he brought it higher and higher. When he finally gripped the uppermost reaches of her thigh and let his fingers slip to the place where her legs met, she let out a long moan of surprise tinged with pleasure. In response, she began to fumble with the buckle that held his sword around his hips.

"I hate... this thing..." she gasped.

He grunted, pushed her hands away and freed the weapon, tossing it aside so that it clattered onto the earth. She dove into him.

He began to slip her shirt off her shoulder. Not that she minded. In tugging on the strings that bound his shirt and whispering encouragement as he slipped his fingers into her waistband, she hoped she communicated the message that she would never mind.

* * *

Shivering, Millerna pulled her cloak around her shoulders. It was unseasonably cold that night. Even the nightingales were silent, probably huddled together for warmth, she thought as she rubbed her hands through her gloves. Dryden had better count himself lucky that she was willing to brave such extremes to get to him, even if he wasn't willing to tear himself away from the idea of becoming noble in order to give her a proper goodbye. What had the letter said? 'Take your chances while you can?' Running away from home to chase a childhood crush was taking chances. Walking through Asturia at night without even a personal guard was taking chances. Turning up on Dryden Fassa's doorstep the night before he was leaving, perhaps forever? This was lunacy.

The gate of the Fassa estate was before her. Someone had painted the bars of the gate blue, which Millerna wouldn't have expected a man like Meiden to allow. Dryden had probably convinced him to do it.

Cautiously, she eased her way through the gaps between the bars, taking care not to rip her cloak on the iron bars. She wasn't about to announce herself. Meiden would have a field day running to her father and telling him that she was so distraught over his son's departure that she had to run and see him in the middle of the night, and who knows what conjugal activities in which they'd participated. When she squeezed through, she paused to catch her breath, hoping that she'd know which window was Dryden's.

When she was within sight of the house, she knew this would be next to impossible. Not only was nearly every window dark, but there were enough windows on the three story, stone manor to rival the courtyard of the palace. Unless he happened to pass in front of one of the few lit windows, she'd never figure out which room was his.

After all the lights were out, she stood there for a long time, not sure what to do. She knew he was in there; all she had to do was find a way inside and take a chance. But now that she was at the moment of truth, she found that she didn't know what she'd say to him, even if he somehow figured out that she was there and signaled to her somehow. Was she going to yell at him? Demand to know what his business with Eries was that morning? Ask him why he was planning on leaving without saying goodbye? Beg him to stay?

_No,_ she thought. _I was going to tell him I'll think of him every day._

When the wind started to cut through her cloak, Millerna took one last look at the darkened house, straining to see if anyone at all was there. After a few minutes, she sighed.

"If I don't see you tomorrow," she said, "Good luck, Dryden."

The wind flowed over her words. And when she left, she didn't see the figure in the third floor window that stared after her as she walked away.


	28. A Place Far Away From Here

*Epilogue and notes to follow in one week. If you want any questions answered in the notes, please leave them in your review or PM me.

Thank you for reading. :)

* * *

**Chapter 28 - A Place Far Away From Here**

It was still a long time before dawn when she opened her eyes, her limbs stiff from having fallen asleep on the ground, so it was the cold that woke her, not the light. The night had been warm, but the pre-dawn had quickly overtaken the last of the heat from the leaf-strewn earth. Though she was still very tired, she was thankful that something woke her before morning. It wouldn't have been good for either of them if Rhum had sent someone out to find them, or worse, if Merle had taken it upon herself to do it.

She stretched, pushing her body against Van's. He grumbled in his sleep. She was a little sore; sore, but good. Vaguely, she wondered if it were normal to feel that way after what she'd done the previous night.

Regretfully, she sat up and put her hands in her lap. They would need to get back to camp before everyone woke for the day. No matter how casual the wolf-men of Fanelia were, even they were bound to notice that she had spend the night alone in the woods with their king. Rhum could be counted on to be discreet, but the others? She bit her lip in thought. No, even though they were Rhum's men, she couldn't be sure they wouldn't spread rumors. After Merle's outburst in Pallas, Hitomi tried to remember the importance of discretion, if only for Van's sake.

After all, she wasn't planning an extended stay.

Several locks of Van's hair had fallen across his eyelids in his sleep. She brushed them aside, letting her fingertips linger on his right temple. Under his skin, she could feel the vein in his temple throbbing as it mimicked the beating of his heart. She leaned over and kissed him there.

"Wake up," she whispered. "We're out of time."

He groaned and pushed himself up so that he was leaning back on his arms. The clothes which had covered them both for a time slid down his torso and pooled in his lap. He looked down at them and Hitomi could have sworn that she saw him blush a little. Then he looked at her, still quite unclothed in the moons' light, and the blush deepened.

"Hitomi."

She cocked her head and smiled, feeling a bit of heat rising in her face. "Hi."

With his right arm, he reached over and took her hand in his, his eyes never leaving her face. "You're beautiful."

This time it was her turn to blush. She looked away, using one hand to clutch her upper arm.

"Stop it," she muttered. "I'm not."

"I've always thought you were one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen."

She gave a weak smile and rested her forehead on his shoulder. He began tracing light circles on her back, in rhythm with her slow breathing.

"Did you think that when I slapped you?" she murmured.

"Especially then."

She laughed, and it turned into a yawn.

"You're tired. We need to head back."

"I wish we could stay here all night," she sighed. "It's beautiful here."

"It is," he agreed.

They sat like that for a few more moments, Van's fingers and the wind raising goosebumps on Hitomi's skin. The more urgent it was for them to leave, the less she wanted to.

"Hey, Van."

"Hm?"

"What were you going to do with the dragon-hearts earlier?"

Gently, he pushed her away so that she had to look at him. His eyes were grave, but there was a smile playing around his lips that was almost playful. She couldn't ever remember seeing that expression on his face. She liked it.

"Do you want me to show you?"

She cocked her head and smiled. "Sure."

He stood up, causing the pile of clothes in his lap to fall to the ground and proceeded to the nearest tree. His limbs flashed silver in the light of the moons as he selected two ripe dragon-hearts. Watching him move, remembering how his blood moved under his skin as she brushed the hair away from his forehead, the irreversible snap of fruit from bough, all of it reminded Hitomi of how precious the rest of their time was together. She promised herself that she wouldn't waste it.

"Here," he said, placing one of the fruits in her open palm. He sat down next to her. "This is usually done with both partners standing in a still body of water, but it's cold and I don't want you getting sick."

"That's okay. Maybe one day I can see the real thing."

A shadow of pain flashed across Van's face, but he covered it quickly with a smile.

"Maybe," he said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." she trailed off, uncertain of what she'd just done.

"It's fine. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

He cupped her face with his open palm and slid the dragon-heart into her mouth. It was as delicious as she remembered, if not better. She took her time in chewing, trying to savor the flavor as long as she could. Now that she was entering a country in which it was sacred, she doubted she'd have anymore chances to eat it.

When she swallowed, he said, "Now me."

Trying unsuccessfully to keep a straight face, she mimicked his actions with the fruit that he'd placed in her hand. His cheek was smooth, except along his jawline, where it was slightly rough. It had gotten tan again, now that they'd spent every day outside. Her skin, she knew, was probably a nightmare of freckles. She let her hand linger on his jaw while he slowly chewed his dragon-heart. Noticing this, he flashed a quick smile at her, and a bit of juice leaked from his mouth.

"You've got some on your lips," she said.

"Ah. Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Please. Close your eyes."

"You'd better not do something weird," she joked, but closed them.

She felt something cool and sweet being dragged over her lower lip. Van had wet his finger in the fruit juice on his lips, and was tracing the line of her mouth. Slowly, he applied it to her upper lip as well. Then, before it dripped down her chin, he very gently kissed her. The taste of dragon-fruit mingled on their lips and tongues, and it was cool and sweet as shaved ice in summer. Without opening her eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands slipped to her waist, and he held her there, until she pulled away from him, smiling. There was still red nectar on his lips. She wiped it off with her finger.

"What do you think?" he asked.

She licked the juice off her finger and smacked her lips. "I liked it."

"Good," he said, softly, pulling her back to him. "Because I'd like to do it again."

* * *

The day dawned bright and warm over Fanelia and its neighbors, and Princess Millerna was about to have a heart attack.

"He's left already," she kept saying. "He's left without saying goodbye and I am _so mad at him_."

"Shh, calm down. He wouldn't do that, Princess. Not without his flagship, anyway," said Gaddes, good-naturedly.

"How can you be so sure? For all you know, he left yesterday and left his flagship behind to cut down on docking fees!"

"That doesn't-," Gaddes paused, frowning. "Wait no, nevermind. That sounds exactly like him."

Millerna let out a frustrated groan. Unseen by her, Gaddes shrugged and carried on helping his men load the Crusade.

She hadn't slept at all the previous night. After her midnight sojourn to the Fassa estate had turned up fruitless, she'd returned to the palace, determined to at least get her mind off the nagging sensation in the back of her mind that letting Dryden go without talking to him was a terrible mistake. First, she'd thrown herself into the most recent issue of _The Pallatian Journal of Medicine_, but new research in the stitching of internal organs just wasn't as interesting to her as it normally was. She found herself reading the line about the benefits of catgut over and over, not taking in what it really said. Finally, just before first light, she slammed her books shut, donned her leggings and pink shirt, and marched straight down to the docking area. There she'd waited, until the fledgling sun crept over the eastern sea.

"Coward," she huffed, hugging herself.

"I'd contest," a low, lilting voice responded and a hand pressed against her shoulder, "But it's a fairly apt description."

"Dryden!" she bit her lip, suddenly uncomfortable. "I thought you'd left."

"Not for lack of trying. Mother insisted I stay for breakfast, and when father didn't show, I had to spend some time consoling her. In fact, I was hoping to board my ship and leave when I saw you standing there. I thought to myself, 'Whatever's making her turn up in the filthy airship port at the crack of dawn has to be important. And besides, it's never in your best interests to keep such a beautiful woman waiting.' So. What are you doing here?"

Millerna cut to the point. "Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"I really was." He put his hands in his pockets and smiled. "Don't give me that look. I'm terrible at goodbyes; I didn't want to mar your memories of me by acting like a fool."

She snorted. "Trust me, you've already done enough to not have to worry about that."

He theatrically put his hand over his heart. "Ouch! Her barbs are sharp indeed!"

"Be serious for a moment."

Frowning slightly, she put both hands on his arm and tugged it down from where it lay. He looked surprised, and didn't fight.

"What is it?"

"I got a letter from someone yesterday, telling me that you were about to leave. I don't think you sent it, though," she quickly added, before Dryden could start defending himself. "Whoever sent it signed it with 'M.'

"So you think it's my father." He rubbed the stubble on his chin, apparently thinking. "Well, I don't doubt that he's capable of something like that. He's wanted a Fassa on the throne ever since he got involved in politics, and he's not above emotional manipulation to achieve it."

She shook her head impatiently. "It doesn't matter. I came here because I wanted to talk to you, not because of some stupid letter. I can't let you go without making some things clear between us."

He rubbed the back of his neck and stepped away so that her hands fell from his arm. "That isn't really necessary."

"Yes, it is," she said, frowning. "I can't let you go like this. You don't understand how much help you've been to me since the war ended. Since you left."

He gave a twisted smile. "I was hoping when I left you'd chase after me, not thank me for it."

"Stop that," she said, looking at the ground. "This is difficult for me to say."

"I'm sorry. Please continue."

She sighed, but pressed on. "All my life, I've depended on other people to make me happy. My sister Marlene, Allen... you. It was always the foremost question in my mind when I met someone: 'Will they make me happy?' When I asked Hitomi to do a reading for me before we got married, I asked her to tell me if I was making the right decision. What I really wanted to know was whether or not you'd make me happy."

"It's a valid question to ask," he murmured, placing his hand on her shoulder and squeezing it. "If someone doesn't bring you joy, he's not worth being with."

"You're not listening to me. What I should have been asking myself was 'Why can't I make myself happy?' not 'Why can't anyone make me happy?' You can't go through life shoving that responsibility onto other people. You have to make it happen yourself." Gathering strength, she looked him in the eye. "I didn't realize that until you left me."

"Don't," he said, speaking softly enough that she could hardly hear him over the din of idling airships. "You're too smart to have gone your whole life without figuring that out eventually."

"As long as I had someone to depend on, I don't think I would have. You took that away from me. Thank you."

He chuckled. "I never thought I'd be happy to hear someone thanking me for removing myself from her presence. Does this mean you don't hate me?"

"No," she said, with a half smile. "I don't hate you. But this doesn't mean I'm ready to take you back!"

He held his hands in front of him like a shield. "Wouldn't dream of broaching the subject. Ah, that reminds me. I visited your sister yesterday to pick up these."

He fumbled around in his robes for a moment, turning out random pockets until he located the thing he was looking for. It was a roll of parchment, bound in leather straps and sealed with the royal crest of Asturia. He pressed it into her hands.

"I was going to send them to you when I was well away from Pallas, but since you're here... well, this is easier. They're divorce papers."

A rope of ice bound itself around Millerna's lungs."What?"

"Divorce papers. Annulment papers, actually. Seems the royal bloodline is a bit sensitive to the word 'divorce.' I had your sister draw them up for me. You've got to hand it to her; the woman knows her way around the law. Since we never consummated the marriage, she was able to get it declared invalid. All you have to do is sign."

Blankly, Millerna looked at the papers, and then at him. This was what she wanted, wasn't it? Ever since he left, she'd felt lighter, freer, happier, even, but this? She never expected the courts to cooperate. To be honest with herself, the fact that Dryden, her husband, was really leaving her had never fully hit her until the thick, official roll of parchment declaring their marriage null and void had been placed into her hands.

"I suppose this is it," she almost whispered.

"Hey. It's like you said; I have to have time to be on my own, too. I'm a cheating, rotten, scheming merchant and I need to learn how to be an honest, good, and clever one before I'm the kind of man you deserve."

"How do you know what I deserve?" she stubbornly insisted, squeezing the annulment papers so that they crumpled in the middle. "That's not a choice for you to make."

"No, it's not. But the road to self-improvement _is_ my choice. I may be handsome, well-read, rich, and an excellent host," he said with a rakish grin, "but deep down, I don't like who I'm becoming. I don't want to end up like my dad."

"How can you even think that? You could never end up like him. Your father wouldn't have considered doing the things you've done for me for a second."

"He would have if they'd made him look good," he replied, shrugging. "Not that it matters."

"Of course it does. Would your father have done this?" she asked, waving the papers at him.

"Probably not," he admitted, unable to keep himself from grinning. "He certainly wouldn't have left the annulment up to his wife."

"Up to me?" she looked back down at the parchment.

"Yup. Up to you. It's not official until you sign it," he tapped the scroll in emphasis. "Promise me one thing, though; if you do decide you're ready to move on, write me a letter so that I can stop irritating my crew with my incessant pining."

She smiled despite herself. "If I get tired of waiting for you, then I'll do just that."

The grin that broke over Dryden's features was brighter than the day outside. "Did you just say that you'd wait for me?"

"I said that I _might_, not that I _would_."

"That's good enough for me," he said, taking both her hands in his. The scroll flattened between them.

"I'm not promising anything, though."

He shook his head, and the smile on his face this time was honest. "I wouldn't ask you for a promise."

"See?" she said, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning against his chest. "That's how I know you're not like your father."

He looped his arms around her shoulders and squeezed, as the corners of his eyes crinkled into a smile. "Flatterer."

When his ship finally sailed into the sky, and the ribald shouts of the men of the Crusade, still busy with loading their ship, reentered her consciousness, she didn't look back. She didn't need to. It was enough.

* * *

The only sound in the old parlor of the Schezar estate was the slow ticking of the clock that the family had received as a gift from the royal family upon entering the service of knighthood. It was a very old clock, old as Scherazade, and Allen thought it a wonder that the clock still kept perfect time. The sound reverberated dryly throughout the room. Celena, who was sitting with her hands clutched in her lap, staring at them with her lip caught between her teeth, didn't seem to notice it. It was all Allen could hear. He folded his arms across his chest and fought the urge to pace.

They'd been sitting in silence for the past ten, twenty miets, and he was beginning to get restless. He wanted to know if he should be prepared to defend himself or call for someone to control his hysterical sister. But when he told her finally that Chid was his son and all the circumstances surrounding that, she froze, looked at the floor, and fell completely silent.

_Tick_. He saw her fingers twitch.

_Tock_. He pushed his hair out of his eyes, knelt down before her, and gently wrapped his hands around her clenched fists.

_Tick_. She finally lifted her eyes and looked at him.

"So... I'm an auntie, huh?" she said with a weak smile.

"I suppose," he said, tightening his grip on her hands. "Though in the figurative sense, I'll never be his real father. I never had the chance."

Celena grimaced and withdrew her hands from her brother's. "Too tight," she muttered.

"Sorry."

They looked away from each other.

_Tock_.

"I was hoping that you'd marry... someone one day, and that you'd have a family that way. With your wife. Not like this," she paused and her mouth settled into a hard line. "After all your lectures on the importance of propriety, you admitting to me that you've broken every rule you expect me to adhere to is pretty rich, Allen."

There was a lengthy pause, in which the sound of the clock once again took up all the space in the parlor. Allen stood and walked to the fireplace, where he stood, staring at the empty grate.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," he said to the wall, "Or tell me that what I did wasn't wrong. I just didn't think it was fair to keep this a secret. You're my sister. You deserve to know certain things about my life."

"Before I find out some other way."

"Yes."

_Tick_.

"Propriety," she said, and he couldn't mistake the bitterness in her voice. "What a stupid idea."

"Propriety is the only thing that keeps us from killing each other sometimes. It's certainly what keeps people from fathering children outside of marriage," he added without humor. "Usually."

_Tock._

"I'm not mad that you fell in love and had a kid," she said, and he turned to face her, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "I'm mad that you expect me to act like a perfect little lady when you've gone and broken every code that the stupid Knights Caeli gave you when you joined up."

"I was a very young man," he said. "Younger than I thought. Young and stupid. My actions can't be excused, but the reasons behind them can at least be explained by the passion of youth."

"I'm younger now than you were when you laid your princess," she pointed out.

_Tick_.

The color drained from Allen's face. Without ceremony, he marched up to her, took her by the shoulders, and growled, "Don't you ever, _ever_ imply anything like that again. _I loved her._"

She stared defiantly up at him. "I'm sure you knew all about love."

He raised his hand as if to strike her. She shut her eyes and flinched. Seeing this brought Allen to his senses, and he stumbled backwards, horrified at what he had been about to do.

_Tock._

He ran his shaking hand across his forehead. "I... I need a moment to..."

He stumbled again, catching himself on the mantle above the fireplace. A wave of nausea surged into his throat, and he swallowed convulsively. That infernal clock kept ticking, and each tick was a hammer to his gut.

"I'm sorry," whispered Celena. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No. I didn't know about love. You were right. Don't you see? Can't you understand that's why I want to protect you?"

"I don't want to be protected!" she shouted.

He spun around to see that she'd stood up, and from her head to her foot, she was every inch as passionate as the father that had left them at such a young age.

"You don't know that I'll make the same mistakes you did!" she continued, gesticulating with every emphasized word. "And it's not fair to treat me like I'm going to break if you let me out of your sight! I'm not a child anymore! I want to learn the sword so I don't have to rely on Dilandau when I'm cornered! It's the only way I know to get him out of my head!"

"People in Pallas would never accept a woman like that. It goes against everything they know, every rule of propriety that exists-"

"Damn propriety! If I can't learn what I need to learn to save myself because some stuffy old men would think it was _improper_, than I can't live here anymore! Isn't my life more important than that!?"

"Which is why," Allen continued, raising his voice to be heard above her increasingly hysterical voice. "I'm accepting my reassignment to Castelo Fort."

_TICK_.

Celena's mouth snapped closed in time with the clock. She blinked, then sat heavily down on the couch, utterly blindsided.

"What did you say?"

"I'm accepting my assignment to Castelo Fort," he began, his voice level. "It's in one of the most remote areas of Asturia; on the border with Fanelia, actually, and far enough away from society that even my men don't abide by the dress code. I've been considering it for the past week. The Military Minister has already funded the rebuilding, and Gaddes and the others are probably on their way there with supplies right now. I was going to ask you to stay behind, perhaps get started on a proper education, but now... I think it best if you come with me. For a time."

"Can Sati come?" she said, still sounding befuddled.

For the first time since he began the story of his past, Allen smiled. "If she consents."

"Of course I'll go with you," she said, and this time, she did start to cry. "Even if you hadn't asked, I would have stowed away. You know I can't let you leave me alone again. When do we leave?" She wiped her tears off with her fists, smiling.

"As soon as the fort is rebuilt."

Celena made a strange, almost animal-like noise of happiness, and then ran towards Allen and hugged him around the waist.

"Do you still hate me?

"Never," she coughed, hugging him tighter. "I could never hate you. You're my brother. You got me out of Zaibach. You brought me home."

_Tock._

* * *

Fanelia. From the forests, Hitomi said, there was no evidence that the capital had been burned at all. The trees were full of the houses of arboreal beastmen, and here and there villages dotted the ever-greener slopes leading down into the Valley of the Dragons, the heart of the very old nation. Van was recognized everywhere they went; people would press gifts into his hands, welcome him home, murmur that they were proud of him for his role in the war. Van would just smile and thank them, and they would draw back, pleased at the acknowledgement from their king. Some were not so happy to see him. To those people, Van would apologize, and promise to do more.

"Why don't you get mad at them?" she asked him, perplexed, after a particularly irate tradesman had gone so far as to pelt Van with fruit as they were passing through his village.

"Balgus always taught me that being King is a thankless job," he said, calmly cleaning his shirt. "And that if the people have a grievance with you, it's better to address it instead of punishing them for being unhappy. That man was angry that his profits had fallen, and blamed me for leaving instead of staying behind and rebuilding."

"That's unfair!" Hitomi huffed. "If you hadn't left, he wouldn't even be here."

"I know. But he's also right. Maybe I should have stayed and rebuilt Fanelia. Who's to say that someone else wouldn't have saved the world?"

"Now you're just teasing me," she said.

"No. It's never easy to make the right decision, especially when you're a King. If it's too easy, you're doing something wrong."

Unable to think of anything else to say, Hitomi fell silent, and took his hand. That night, they snuck away again, and enjoyed the rare luxury of a hot spring bath while the rest of the camp slept. That rotten fruit needed to be washed away, Hitomi said. Van didn't argue.

Within a few days the capital city was in sight. From a distance, it still appeared to be a burnt ruin lined with barely-recovering trees, but as they got closer, Hitomi could see activity. Here and there, small houses and shops had been resurrected, and entire sections of the town were covered in brightly-colored tarps as temporary homes for the refugees that flooded back the moment word reached them that the war was over and their King was coming home. A few small gardens were even full of young new shoots. Even before they reached the city gates, Hitomi could caught the smell of cooking in the evening air; savory and spicy. It had been months since she'd had anything spicy. She wondered whether it would be rude to expect a share of food from people who clearly had little to spare. One look at Van's face, though, and she knew she wouldn't have to worry for anything.

"Welcome home," she said.

He smiled at her, and the wind picked up, blowing his hair around his head.

When Rhum's trading party arrived at the city gates, and when Van leapt down from the giant _iyakla_, Hitomi's hand in his, the roar of his people was deafening. He wouldn't let her hide with the wolf-men, away from the adulation of the crowd, but made her walk up front with him, made sure that everyone knew who she was and what she had done for their country. Their world. Most of his countrymen wanted to put him up for the night in their tents, but Van declined each time, saying that he should say with Rhum and his pack while they were in town in gratitude for their service. Rhum's trading routes had almost singlehandedly brought in the necessary supplies to start rebuilding.

"Though we haven't been able to get near the heart of the city," said one very old man. "The dragons, you know. They haven't left yet."

The firelight flickered, highlighting the shadows projected on the side of his tent as he blew a string of smoke. Around him, his grandchildren shrieked and tackled one another. Merle chased them when they got too close. They liked her presence much more than that of the quiet, dark-looking king.

_She'll be a good mother one day_, thought Hitomi.

"Have you tried making the dragons leave?" Asked Rhum, matter-of-factly.

The old man shrugged. "_You _try telling a dragon that it has to be somewhere else."

"I will," said Van, gravely.

That night, while some of the people of his kingdom watched and some slept, Van walked into the center of the ruined capital alone and unarmed. When he came out again, the dragons were gone, and the Girl from the Mystic Moon was waiting for him, the moons casting a halo of blue light on her strange, short hair.

* * *

_To Captain Amparo Alba, army of Copper, flying fortress_ Brescia,

_It has been a long month. I've settled well into my quarters on the Ispano factory mothership, and the little creatures seem to appreciate my insight, though there is very little use for the work I was doing in the capital on a ship full of mechanical concerns. One of the Ispano, a short (even for Ispano) female (I believe) called Ystri, has taken me on as an assistant of sorts. It seems I've left one apprenticeship for another. Fate has proven once again to have a sense of humor, despite what those daft lunatics from the Fate Alteration branch used to say about how solemn it is. Thus far, she's allowed me the privilege of cleaning her instruments and transporting blood samples to the biogeneteics lab, but I think with enough work, she'll let me in on some of her research with the microscope. _

_Their blood fascinates me; it's blue, like the dragons. One day I'd like to have a chance to examine it, compare it to mine, chart the differences and similarities between our races on the  
blood scale, discover what about its composition causes it to appear blue when exposed to air. Perhaps with the addition of Ispano blood, I can finally lay the groundwork for proving my theory about microscopic animals being the cause of disease rather than maliferous odors. _

_My apologies. You've never expressed interest in my work, but it's gone from my job to my life now, and it's all I can think to write. Give my respects to our parents, but do not relay any apologies. There has never been another Destiny for their oldest son, and he is not about to make amends for it. _

_Your brother, _

_Amparo Viktor_

_To Amparo Viktor, Ispano Factory Mothership._

_Can't write a lengthy reply, as your messenger isn't keen on waiting around, but I wanted you to know I got your message. Mother won't be pleased, and Father will probably insist on calling a search and rescue mission, but I'm happy for you. _

_Going to Fanelia on my next leave. Next time you write, expect details._

_- A. A., Capt._

* * *

Hot amber tea sloshed about in one of the blue and white patterned cups Eries had inherited from her mother when she passed away after giving birth to Millerna. She set it on its saucer with a quiet 'clink,' between what remained of the sandwiches and the trifle.

"I'm pleased you found him," she said, a brief smile illuminating her features before she slipped back into her usual cool stare. "I hope things went well."

Millerna cocked her head and grinned, looking, for a moment, exactly her age. "They did! They went really well. We set things right. After he got through teasing me, anyway." She paused. "What about for you?"

Eries raised one eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You know. With Allen. I know you visited him a few days ago. Did he apologize?"

Eries' lashes hooded her downcast eyes, and she found herself unable to say anything. It was strange; only a few weeks ago, she would have found it easy to lie to her sister and say that nothing had occurred between her and her old friend. Now that Millerna knew the secret Eries had kept for more than a third of her life, she found that her usual skills of deception had left her. There was nothing for her to hide behind anymore.

"He apologized," she finally said, looking out the window. In the distance, she could see the snow-capped peaks of the Western mountains. A flock of red birds flew by, calling to one another as they wheeled about in the gentle afternoon wind. She found herself wondering whether Hitomi and Van had arrived yet in Fanelia, and whether Hitomi had left yet. How many years of separation did they have between them? Was it forever? "So did I."

"Oh, Eries."

There was a gentle pressure on her hand. She looked up and saw that Millerna had walked around the table to take her hand in hers.

"As long as you're both alive," she said, "There's hope. Hitomi taught me that. It doesn't matter what's in your way, or what you think is stopping you. As long as you're both alive, and as long as you keep each other in your thoughts, there's hope."

"Don't," she said, and failed in attempting a playful smile. "I can live without him. He doesn't need to love me to make me happy."

"No," said Millerna, squeezing her hand. "That would make it worse, wouldn't it?"

And then she was in Millerna's arms, gripping her sleeves and pressing her face into the crook of her shoulder, her breath keeping time with the cadence of her heart, and it was she, not her sister, who was the younger one.

* * *

Folken was buried in the royal crypt, in the shadow of Escaflowne.

Van spoke little about his brother's involvement in the war. He only said that he helped end it, and that in death, proved himself a true son of Fanelia. Most of the people didn't attend the small service, preferring to spend their time rebuilding their homes and laying gardens for the winter than pay their respects to a man who had been dead for five years. Those who did attend, the few dragon priests that had returned from hiding, some of Van's ministers, a few members of the palace staff, and even an old samurai, bowed their heads with respect, and saluted Folken as a fallen King. It was all Hitomi could do to keep Merle from sobbing aloud. As it was, her hand would never be the same. Merle held it throughout the funeral, and she wasn't shy about squeezing when she needed some emotional support. The claw marks, she thought, would probably be there for weeks. The last of the people who had attended the service were walking down the hill, back to the city, when Merle finally let go.

"Ugh," said Merle, scrubbing her eyes with the balls of her hands. "I hate funerals. They make me so sad."

"It was nice, though," said Hitomi. "What Van said."

"I guess. Hey. Do you want to come and help me make lunch for the carpenters? It's really fun. Rareru lets me eat some of the raisins while we're cooking."

"Thanks, Merle, but I think I should stay with Van for a while."

Both girls looked to where he was kneeling before the gravesite. His head was bowed, and he looked as if he were praying. The sunlight that filtered through the leaves cast a green and gold glow on the Fanelian Royal Crypt. Hitomi thought it would be a nice place to be buried. She was sure that Folken was happy with it. In the back of her mind, she could almost hear him laughing.

"Yeah. You probably should," the catgirl conceded. She looked back at Hitomi, her tail twitching behind her. "Hey, Hitomi."

"Hm?" she said, still looking at Van.

"I just wanted you to know that whatever happens, that I... that I don't hate you. I really like you," a tremor entered her voice for a moment, and then she went on, steadier now. "You're one of the best friends I've ever had."

"Merle..."

Merle rolled her eyes. "Don't act so surprised. You're so dense sometimes. Well, I've got to get going. Some of us have things to do."

Before Hitomi could say anything else, Merle wrapped her arms around her waist in a quick, bone-crushing hug and bounded away. When she reached the treeline, she stopped to wave. Hitomi waved back. Satisfied, Merle grinned at her, and with one last flick of her tail, she was gone.

* * *

_Light grip, loose wrist,_ Celena repeated to herself.

A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. She ignored it, trying to remember what Gaddes had told her about concentrating only on the motions of her body.

"The sword isn't a weapon, it's sort of a part of you. Think of it like... a third arm."

Celena scrunched up her face in annoyance, and held the sword up, parallel to the earth. "That's weird. What am I going to do with another arm?"

Gaddes shrugged. "Stab things?"

She could hear Allen's groan from several yards away, and imagined him pressing his face into his palms, the very picture of exasperated patience.

"If you don't like it, why don't you get a better teacher?" she shouted, her eyes never leaving her sword.

"Hey!" said Gaddes, lightly whacking her on the back of the head with a rolled-up parchment. "Show some respect for your swordmaster!"

It had been two weeks since her conversation with her brother. In lieu of sending her to train with the Caeli or the Palace Guard, Allen had hired his friend Gaddes to teach his sister about the basics of swordplay. He'd offered to do it himself, but Celena had made a face and said that she didn't think her over-protective brother would be the wisest choice for a teacher. Actually, she used a more colorful phrase, but Allen had chosen to ignore it. They started their training sessions as soon as Gaddes returned from delivering supplies to Castelo. Thus far, his refusal to see her as anything other than a soldier reporting for basic training was working well. She'd shown marked improvement in her gripping technique already, and was fast learning how to balance the weight of the sword with the movements of her wrists.

"If she's not careful, she'll end up as good as you, Boss," Celena had overheard him telling her brother one day when they thought she wasn't listening at the door.

"If it helps..." Allen trailed off, not finishing, and Gaddes didn't press him.

After another hour had passed, Gaddes decided that she'd done enough for the day and assigned her some exercises to keep her wrists strong.

"If your wrists aren't limber, you've got no business holding a sword," he said, slapping her on the back so that she almost lost her balance. "See you in a couple of days."

"Yeah, see you," she said with friendly wave.

Grinning rakishly, he waved back, then walked into the house to charm Cook into giving him something for the road.

"How'd I do?" Celena demanded immediately, spinning to face Allen.

Allen smiled. "You're getting better."

"Good," she said with satisfaction. She paused, frowning, as if remembering something unpleasant, and then experimentally sniffed herself. "Ugh," she said, coughing. "I smell awful. I need to wash up."

"I'll have Hill draw you a bath."

"No, don't worry about it, I can tell her. Hey, Allen?"

"Hm?"

She sheathed her sword. "I think I'd like to go visit mother today."

Allen paused, remembering the last time he took his sister to visit their mother's grave. The moth, the flower petals dancing in the breeze, the sudden tightening of her shirt and the way she screamed. But then he remembered the nights she spent crying when she thought no one was listening, and the nights she gave up and sought comfort from her brother. And he remembered the way she smiled now. Like she was free.

"I'd like that," he said.

* * *

The ascent to the peak of Jichia, the great dragon-god that guarded the harbor of Pallas, was actually very easy if you knew the secret, but only one person did, and he wasn't sharing. People would look up at him from the cobbled harbor below and squint their eyes in their effort to see who had managed such a climb. The sun, however, always obscured their vision, and when it was gone, the shadows were too deep to penetrate. All they knew was that there was _someone_ up there, and that whenever he decided to climb up or climb down, no one saw him do it. If he knew he was being watched, he didn't care. What mattered to him wasn't his fame. It the little things that he appreciated.

Recumbent on his perch, the Moleman grinned a toothy grin. In his hand, a seabird frantically flapped as he put the finishing touches on a note to one of his contacts, taking extra care with his signature. He signed his initial, "M," with a flourish. He dropped the quill, then, with his free hand, carefully blotted the ink until it was dry. Satisfied, be rolled up the message and turned to his captive.

"Good. Now hold still," he said to the bird, which inexplicably calmed down and waited for him to tie the message to its leg. Once it was secure, he let it go, and the bird darted into the sky, squaking indignantly.

"Don't dawdle!" he shouted after it. "Important people are waiting for that message!"

There was an answering squack, to which the Moleman replied, "My mother was a fine woman! Ugly bird! Degenerate! Starved chicken! Ah! My back!"

He fell backwards, breathing hard, having worked himself into such a frenzy that he pulled a muscle in his back. The contents of his pack crinkled underneath him as he fought to regain control of his breathing.

"I'm getting to old for this kind of work," he complained to a nearby gull, which puffed out its feathers in response.

"Still," he continued, finally righting himself. "It's nice to know I've done something for the world. Even if it doesn't appreciate me. You at least get the respect you deserve."

The bird let out a caw that was like a laugh. Then, it spread its wings, awkwardly ran a few paces, and took flight. A single white feather came loose from its right wing and twisted in the breeze. It turned one, two, three times, caught a promising wind, and began to lazily twirl its way to the distant Western mountains, towards Fanelia and the sun.

* * *

In the city below, down the stairs which led to the palace gardens and the royal tombs, past the great slats of new wood which hung over burnt-out craters in the castle walls, Fanelia was alive. It shouted in children's voices, it stretched and grew with the laying of every new brick, it sweated with water and soot and new life. The smell of cooking on the air was its breath, savory and rich, and the people who had returned after being away for so long, the people who argued and ate and worked and loved, its heartbeat.

It wasn't hard to hear. Hitomi could feel it. It coiled itself in her bones.

Soon, once the palace was rebuilt, Fanelia would stand up and once again walk wth the rest of Gaea, and Hitomi would be in school. She would pass her exams, she would go on to further her education, she might even make new friends, get her own apartment, start a career. It was what she wanted. Time away from a palce that she'd grown to love. Time to recover from the things she'd seen. Time for herself. Time to grow.

At the royal tombs, she saw Van kneel before his brother's tomb. The hairs on the back of his neck stirred gently in the breeze. She wondered how long it would be before she would be able to do something as simple as lay her hand there to feel the heat of his skin on hers. She would miss that.

Then, Hitomi Kanzaki, the Girl From the Mystic Moon, took off the necklace her grandmother gave her and handed it to the King of Fanelia.

That was the beginning.

After the end of the summit, after King Fanel came home, after the great pillar of light announced that the Girl had returned to the Mystic Moon, Gaea began breathing again. The great exhalation after the end of the war had been a prelude, not to treaties, not to rebuilding, not even to international aid and the resumption of politics as usual, but to normal life. The heartbeat of the world resumed. To the beasts, it was feeling the wind blow again without the smell of blood and smoke, letting their children play in the forests without fear that a group of soldiers would ambush and kidnap them. Less fear, at least. For humans, it was walking home through the market square without the presence of guymelefs, and finding their fathers at home. For the Ispano, it was a decrease in profits and an increase in research.

The dragons kept to themselves.

"Look at the trees, look at my face, look at a place far away from here."

-I'll Believe in Anything, by Wolf Parade


	29. Epilogue: Kaze ga Fuki Hi

**Epilogue - Kaze Ga Fuku Hi**

??? Years Later: Hitomi Dreams

_Walking along the beautiful blue sea,_  
_I realize again and again that_  
_I worry about nothing but meaningless things._

The moons were beautiful that night. On the still waters of the reflecting pool, they bent and bled like the strokes of a watercolor painting. Hitomi was thankful that she could see them so closely. She'd been looking at the ground for so long she'd forgotten what the moons were like.

Wait. What the moon is like. Singular.

_On this day with the warm wind blowing, yesterday_  
_seems terribly blinding,_  
_sadly glimmering, but..._

She looked up at the sky and saw only one moon, bright and silver in the sky. But in the water, two moons still shone at up her, one blue and one gray, as if they weren't doing anything wrong.

"It's the other side of the mirror," her grandmother's voice said, next to hear ear.

And it made sense. Feeling better for reasons she couldn't quite describe, she looked out across the water and saw something that made her breath catch in her throat.

A young man was flying there, barely skimming the pool's surface. He had the most beautiful white wings. She reached out, wanting to join him, but hesitated.

_What can I do_  
_to learn to love myself?_  
_If I learn to_  
_love myself more and more, then..._

"I have no wings," she said, her voice echoing strangely.

"No, you don't," said another feminine voice, this one deep and sorrowful. An image of unfurled wings, hooded red eyes, and long, sleek, deep green hair flashed in her mind.

"Can't he come to me?"

"He's from the other side of the mirror. He doesn't belong here. You don't belong there."

She didn't remember standing up, but she was already on her feet and at the edge of the pool.

_The morning I've never seen,_  
_The song I've never heard,_  
_The "me" that I've never met,_  
_Maybe I can meet_.

"Belonging is a matter of choice, Hitomi," said her grandmother.

And she walked across the water.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_If you would reach out and embrace me, oh far sky,_  
_I'd feel alive._

_-Kaze ga Fuku Hi, _Sakamoto Maaya

* * *

**Afterword**

First of all, I want to thank each and every person who read and reviewed this story and stuck with it since the beginning. I took so long to write and finish this that your patience must be incredible. Naming particular names would take far too long and I KNOW I would leave someone out, so thank you all so, so much for the things you said (especially those of you who reviewed regularly or left criticism). I would not have finished this story without your encouragement.

There are a lot of things I'd change about this story if I could go back and rewrite. For one thing, it would be a little more streamlined. The first three chapters could easily be just one chapter. I'd cut out a fair but if unnecessary drek, and I'd find a way to extend plotlines that I ended far too early, back when I thought that this would be a short fic. It really was a learning experience writing this, as trite as that sounds, and for that, I'm extremely thankful. There were times when I couldn't even look at what I'd written because I was so embarrassed. Thanks to you, though, and the wonderful things you said, I was able to look past the most glaring flaws and continue.

When I started writing Between Days, I had just finished re-watching Escaflowne for the umpteenth time. As the credits rolled and the final, beautiful End of Escaflowne theme started to play, I started thinking: what if the series hadn't suffered any budget cuts? What if they'd been able to do the full 38 episode run they'd had planned? Where would they have put the rest of the story? Like most die-hard romantics, I immediately decided that the rest of the story would have been between when Hitomi and Van stopped the Atlantis Machine and when Hitomi returned home. There were too many questions left unanswered between then and the end, such as how Van went from his tendency towards possessiveness and jealousy to the smiling, understanding person who told Hitomi it was okay for her to go home. To say that this change in behavior came about because they suddenly understood one another is nice, but in real life, relationships don't work that way. A person's flaws don't disappear overnight because they fall in love. There had to be some trials and tribulations between Van and Hitomi during those last few weeks in Gaea for them to part so easily. And, of course (again with the romantic in me), I thought they deserved some time for a real relationship.

Then there were the others. At first, this was going to be a fairly short fanfic. I didn't want to create something too ambitious for my first project, so I decided that a simple adventure story (Hitomi and Van going to Zaibach to retrieve Folken's body) would be easy to tie into a romance. But all the other wonderful characters in Escaflowne also had unanswered questions of their own. How is Celena apparently fully conscious and happy in her final scene with Allen? Why are Eries and Millerna suddenly close enough to hug at the end of the show? Why does Dryden look so content? What about Merle? Doesn't she deserve more closure than telling Van she knew he was in love with someone else? What did the war do to Zaibach? Why didn't the producers of the show explore Eries' feelings for Allen more? And on and on until I had a monster of a fic on my hands.

Some of you have said that reading my fic has been like watching an OVA of the series. I can't tell you how much that means to me, because that's exactly what I was going for the whole time. In fact, I had planned to end the story without an epilogue in order to better fit it into the show, but what's an OVA but a gift from the producers to the fans? And what do the fans want? For Hitomi and Van to be together again. Not because she felt obligated to stay, not because she was so needy that she needed Van to be happy, and not at fifteen years old, but because it was _her choice to return_. One of the major themes of Escaflowne is that in order to be happy in a relationship, you first have to be happy with yourself. Millerna says that she can't expect other people to make her happy, and I think she's right. Hitomi's image song _Kaze ga Fuku hi_ (which regrettably never made it into the series, because it's an amazing song), is about just that. Happiness starts with yourself. Hitomi and Van, I think, both needed time to grow into themselves and heal if they were going to be together. The epilogue I wrote was left a little ambiguous because of that. How and when Hitomi returns are better left up to the imagination. Hopefully, though, it's clear that she returned because she'd decided that it's where she belonged.

I don't know whether I'm ever going to write a series continuation. It's been a long two years, and I'd like to dedicate my time to writing other things that I've left on the backburner for the sake of this story. Plus, I don't know what I'd even write. Filling in the gaps in a story is one thing, but making up a whole new one is something else. I promise, however, that if I ever come up with a way to continue the end of Escaflowne that isn't too hackneyed or overly romantic, I will. I'll know it when I see it.

Thank you again. I couldn't have done this without you.

See you in Fanelia.

-The Crushinator, 11/14/09

(with love to Kelly, rexy_jade, Lil' Dinky, Kae, and EVERYONE)

* * *

**Notes**

The Nations of Gaea (map found at http:// www (dot) lizzard (dot) net /cgi-bin/img (dot) cgi/Jeture/images/gaea_map_translated (dot) jpg)

Basram - president (1st republic of Gaea, so president and parliament), most industrialized aside from Zaibach. Desert.

Cesario - Italy/greece-like, multiple gods in their pantheon, well-known for vino, skills in war, once ruled a vast empire, now a smaller country dominated by its richer and more powerful neighbors. Heavy emphasis on chivalry, very old.

Daedelus - England-like, king queen parliament etc.* North of Fanelia.

Egzardia - south of Zaibach. Known for exquisite fashion and style. France-like? Would likely have queen always in power over king, who is known as prince consort.*

Asturia - trading port at the center of the continents.

Fanelia - village of arzas on outskirts, capital of fanelia, village of Irini, dragon's valley. Unremarkable, woodsman and farmers.

Freid - thailand/cambodia like. Atlantis worship.

Zaibach - quite industrialized, harsh summers and winters.

*some embellishment added by me.

Months  
January = Grey*  
February = Purple  
March = Green*  
April = White*  
May = Yellow  
June = Orange  
July = Pink*  
August = Red  
September = Indigo*  
October = Brown*  
November = Blue  
December = Black*

*indicates that the month wasn't available on the compendium or there was some confusion, so I made up a color. :)

General  
-Paruchi and Garufo are two of the Sorcerers of Zaibach.  
-Adelphos Gein led the Copper Army during the war.  
-Miet = 30 seconds  
-gidaru = a common currency in Gaea, 15 gidaru is the price of lunch.  
-"Dragon's Bride" = the song Folken whistles.  
-Asturia Kingdom High Council meeting are, in order, Dryden, Allen, Van, interior minister, foreign minister, finance minister, military minister, and Meiden.  
-The Schezar family is a major house of knights in Asturia. Because Leon chose not to be a knight, his family was alienated from the main branch. He left his home because he was unhappy, the pressures of being born into a knight's house. He went to Asgard to find Gaea's legends because of his interests in archeology.  
-The names Naria and Eriya that Folken gave to Narunaru and Beruberu are the names of Fanelia's twin goddesses of harvest.  
-Allen is famous in Asturia, one of the reasons is his post at the remote border (Castelo) when the other Knights of Caeli are guarding key locations.  
-The roasted insects in ep8 are valued in Fanelia as one of the ultimate food for fighting in the wilderness. When cooked, they taste like shrimp.


End file.
